Tiziana Laureti

Evaluating technical efficiency of human capital formation in the Italian university: Evidence from Florence

Abstract.This paper models the human capital formation in the Italian university and utilizes a measure of technical efficiency to estimate the output-efficiency of human capital formation in the University of Florence, by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) on a selected set of inputs and outputs. It uses the Program Evaluation (PE) procedure as well, in an attempt to attribute shares of the variation in efficiency to factors that are beyond the control and factors that are under the control of the graduates and faculties.

Competitiveness and productivity: a case study of Italian firms

The purpose of this article is to obtain a synthetic measure of the multi-dimensional concept of firm competitiveness and to analyse the role of different factors, such as productivity, firm size and cluster of industries, for determining firm competitiveness in Italy. An adequate firm-specific data set is constructed from balance sheets by using imputation methods for handling missing values. The synthetic measure of competitiveness is obtained using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach, then a Tobit model is considered to measure the influence of different factors on the measured competitiveness. The results obtained are very interesting and coherent with the characteristics of the Italian firms.

Are Integration and Comparison Between CPIs and PPPs Feasible

The integration and comparison between the Consumer Price Indices (CPIs) and the Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) has been widely discussed in literature and the need of a more integrated approach for calculating these indices has been emphasized. The paper focuses on these issues, both from a theoretical and practical point of view, suggesting the use of a broader definition of the comparability of products for the PPP calculation and a simple statistical method for investigating the advantages of broadening the definition of comparability to include additional products in the PPP calculation.

Evaluating the Efficiency of the Italian University Educational Processes through Frontier Production Methods

The university efficiency indicators, computed as partial indices following the input–output approach, are subject to criticism mainly concerning the problem of comparability of institutions due to the influence of several environmental factors. The aim of this study is to construct comparable efficiency indicators for the university educational processes by using frontier production methods which enable us to solve the problem. The indicators are computed for the Italian State Universities by using a new data set referring to the cohort of students enrolled in the academic year 2004/2005. A comparison with the corresponding partial indicators usually employed is presented.

Harmonized Cross Region and Cross Country CPI Time-Space Integration in the Euro-Zone

This papers deals with the problem of the time-space integration of the CPIs produced in the Euro-zone through the integration of the baskets for time and space price collection. After revising and discussing the existing system and its historical background, the authors propose a simplified approach that allows cross-region and cross-country time-space CPIs integration in a harmonized framework and results in a gain of efficiency and effectiveness and in cost and time saving.

Exploring the Italians' food habits and tendency towards the Mediterranean diet

At first sight, the Mediterranean diet appears to be the best and most well-balanced diet to follow as it links environmental and human health. Unfortunately, it seems that Mediterranean countries are replacing the traditional Mediterranean diet with other less healthy eating habits and orienting their food choices towards products typical of the Western diet which is characterised by a high intake of animal products, refined grains, saturated fats without taking into consideration health issues and environmental sustainability. By using repeated cross-sections of the ISTAT “Aspects of daily-life” survey over the period 1997-2012, we assess the Italians’ prevailing food pattern and explore how it has changed over time and across regions in Italy. Moreover, the role of the socio-demographic and lifestyle factors are investigated.