Salvatore Capasso

The impact of banking development on the size of shadow economies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between banking development and the size of shadow economies by employing data on 137 countries over the period from 1995 to 2007. Both cross-sectional and panel analysis suggest that an improvement in the development of the banking sector is associated with a smaller shadow economy. In addition, the authors find that both the depth and the efficiency of the banking sector matter in reducing the size of shadow economies. These results are robust to a variety of specifications that address multi-colinearity and endogeneity issues. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical cross-section and panel analysis were undertaken. Findings – The authors find that both the depth and the efficiency of the banking sector matter in reducing the size of shadow economies. Originality/value – This paper is original. Existing literature has identified a number of factors (e.g. the burden of taxation or regulation, the quality of government, legal enforcement, corruption, etc.) that create such incentives. In this paper the authors highlight another factor – the level of banking development – as a determinant of the shadow economy.

Testing for the stability of money demand in italy: has the euro influenced the monetary transmission mechanism?

Stability of money demand is a crucial issue for the efficacy of monetary policy. This is particularly true in the presence of significant exogenous shocks to the monetary system. By implementing the most recent econometric testing procedures, this article intends to investigate the consistency of the stability of money demand in Italy, one of the larger European Monetary Union (EMU) countries, before and after the EMU. Among others, the objective is, indeed, to ascertain the effect of a change in the currency regime on the monetary aggregates and to provide a valid empirical model which is a viable tool for policy performance.

Migration Flows, Structural Change and Growth Convergence: A Panel Data Analysis of the Italian Regions

The aim of this paper is to measure the impact of migration flows on growth via their effect on structural change. To this extent we build an empirical growth model in which migration flows and intersectoral wage differentials can affect the speed of labour readjustment between sectors and, ultimately, total factor productivity and growth. By employing Italian regional data stemming over more than four decades we measure the effects of interregional migration on regional growth and convergence. The results confirm that migration in general, and in particular the content of human capital of moving workers, is a relevant factor in determining the speed of technological change and growth.

Open Innovation: quali opportunità per banche e imprese?

Il presente lavoro cerca di analizzare le possibili ripercussioni, ma anche i possibili ostacoli, dell’adozione di modelli di Open innovation nell’ambito del settore dei servizi bancari. In particolare ci si concentra sul ruolo che il prenditorie di fondi, tipicamente l’impresa, puo svolgere nei processi di innovazione aperta adottabili dalle imprese bancarie. Oltre al miglioramento dell’offerta dei servizi, soprattutto digitali, offerti dalle banche, il cliente puo divenire una fonte primaria di informazioni nel processo di erogazione dei prestiti. Gli effetti positivi si esplicherebbero anche a livello macro e di sistema.