Stefano Ghinoi

Municipal Waste Selection and Disposal: Evidences from Lombardy

This article exploit a data base of 1.522 observations related to Lombardy’s municipalities to run a cross sectional estimation of the drivers of MW selection. We find no evidence of a significant correlation between the percentage of selected MW selection and market variables such as the unit charge for waste management, a result probably affected by the high degree of integration existing in Lombardy among collectors and disposal operators. On the contrary, we discover robust and significant correlation with a set of geographical, socio-economic, and political variables. Among the latter ones, we have a confirmations on the influence of party competition on the percentage of household recycling, with the left wing ruling parties more addressed to it than the rivals, and on the high correlation existing between MW selection and the implementation of a unit pricing scheme. Other positive correlations with the independent variable are shown by per-capita income, while quite surprisingly the education level of citizens seems to play no role.

VAR Models for Dynamic Analysis of Prices in the Agri-food System

An adequate understanding of the dynamics that characterize the agri-food market is fundamental for the development of really efficient economic policies, especially after the two recent hikes in the prices of food commodities. The econometric literature provides today advanced analysis tools such as VAR models: these models are based on a system of equations in which each variable is regressed on a set of deterministic variables, on a number of lags related to each covariate in the model. To test the effectiveness of this analytical tool at dealing with the issues related to agri-food economy, we applied a VAR analysis on prices of major food and energy commodities (oil and biodiesel) referring to the period January 2000–December 2012. Our results identified statistically significant intertemporal relationships between the price of corn, soybean oil, rapeseed and oil, and suggested the direction of these relationships; we could conclude that the price of corn and soybeans are influenced mainly in the energy market. Moreover, we focused on the United States market and we set as variables the share of commodities used for the production of biofuels: we could observe that important alterations on the food market are due to the convenience in producing ethanol and biodiesel, since the portion of the crops used for energy is in direct competition with that devoted to the feeding. This kind of model, therefore, deals adequately with data and issues of the agri-food system and provides an analytical basis to develop economic policies that can take into account the complexity of the global food system.

Nautical tourism, carrying capac ity and environmental externality in a protected Lagoon of Northern Adriatic Sea

Tourism and environmental preservation are often conflicting activities, mainly in coastal lagoons, where seaside mass-tourism comes into contact with a very sensitive ecological system. In this paper we deal with a classical problem of both environmental and tourism economics, the internalization of environmental costs of tourism, focusing on the nautical fruition of the Lagoon of Marano and Grado (North-Eastern Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region). Using different instruments, both theoretical (Carrying Capacity framework, Polluter-Payer principle, Coase compensation) and empirical (Log-log regression, Forecasting model, CBA with defensive expenditures and actual market values), we ascertained the result that - given the current nautical berths endowment - a standard Coase equilibrium (unit external cost equal to unit private benefit) does not hold, and a higher number of vessels transiting in the Lagoon is more effective than a tempered fruition for nature conservation. Another interesting result is that the best available solution to internalize environmental externality is a mixed one, combining a command and control rule (a speed-limit prescription) with a Coasian compensation scheme. All the technical theoretical and empirical derivations are reported in Appendix A (Pressure Parameter Calculation), Appendix B (Benefit and Cost Calculation), and Appendix C (Data set and Econometric Tests).

Nautical Tourism, Carrying Capacity and Environmental Externality in the Lagoon of Marano and Grado

Tourism and environmental preservation are often conflicting activities, mainly in areas such as coastal lagoons, where seaside mass-tourism comes into contact with a very sensitive ecological system. In this paper we deal with a classical problem of both environmental and tourism economics, the internalization of environmental costs of tourism, focusing on the nautical fruition of the Lagoon of Marano and Grado (North-Eastern Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region). Using different instruments, both theoretical (Carrying Capacity framework, Polluter-Payer principle, Coase compensation) and empirical (Cluster analysis, Log-log regression, Forecasting model, cost and benefit calculation through actual market values), we get the result that a standard Coasian equilibrium (unit external cost equal to unit private benefit) doesn’t hold, and a higher coverage of the local berths endowment (i. e. a higher vessels transit in the Lagoon) is more effective for nature conservation than a tempered fruition. Another interesting result is that the best available solution to internalize environmental externality is a mixed one, comprehensive of a command and control rule (a speed-limit prescription), and a compensation scheme.