A Bayesian non-parametric modeling to estimate student response to ICT investment†

This paper estimates the causal impact of investment in information and communication technologies (ICT) on student performances in mathematics as measured in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 for Spain. To do this we apply a new methodology in this context known as Bayesian Additive Regression Trees that has important advantages over more standard parametric specifications. Results indicate that ICT has a moderate positive effect on math scores. In addition, we analyze how this effect interacts with variables related to school features and student socioeconomic status, finding that ICT investment is especially beneficial for students from a low socioeconomic background.     

The use of different data sources in the analysis of co-authorship networks and scientific performance

Scientific collaboration is usually derived from archival co-authorship data. Several data sources may be examined, but they all have advantages and disadvantages, especially when a specific discipline or community is of interest. The aim of this paper is to explore the effect of the use of three data sources – Web of Science, Current Index to Statistics and nationally funded research projects – on the analysis of co-authorship networks among Italian academic statisticians. Results provide evidence of our hypotheses on distinct collaboration patterns among statisticians, as well as distinct effects of scientist network positions on scientific performance, by both Statistics subfield and data source.     

Governance and strategy within the financial system: tradition and innovation

Italian banks have undergone an evolutionary process and development of corporate, retail and private banking within the Italian banking system as a response to market pressures exerted by business and private customers for a broadening and qualitative expansion of offerings and organization of available competencies. This not only refers to large enterprises, whose relations with the financial system are autonomous, on equal terms and for some time now have opened up internationally, but above all the large number of SMEs found in Italy’s economic system. Interpreting governance and strategy takes place in a broad perspective in which banks and the financial system have to deal with five significant factors today: regulations, customers, knowledge, capital and synergies. Interaction with these five factors is undoubtedly not only guided by a choice made by shareholders and managers but represents the set of decisions that mitigate ideological factors, choices concerning sustainability and social acceptance of these choices. This paper intends to explore this interaction, drawing on and utilizing the most significant studies in the Italian Banking & Finance sector, with a specific focus on relations between the financial system and businesses, that is to say, the corporate banking area.     

Evaluating positive leadership: pilot study on the psychometric properties of a reduced version of the Positive Leadership Assessment Scale / Evaluando el liderazgo positivo: estudio piloto de las propiedades psicométricas de una versión reducida del Positive Leadership Assessment Scale

Positive leadership is considered a fundamental factor which contributes significantly to the development of healthy organizations. Positive leadership has been address via other leadership models, primarily transformational and authentic leadership, with which some affinities have been established. Although there is a large body of literature on positive leadership, especially related to its practical aspects, the construct is not properly delimited and there are only a few relevant contributions on how to measure it. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a pilot study to examine the psychometric properties of a reduced version of the PLAS (Positive Leadership Assessment Scale). Results from a confirmatory factorial analysis show that a five-correlated factors model achieves a good fit with the empirical data (on a sample of Spanish students). Likewise, this study also offers a range of evidence of validity, showing a relationship with the constructs of both transformational and authentic leadership and engagement.     

Integrating Poverty and Environmental Concerns into Value‐Chain Analysis: A Strategic Framework and Practical Guide

This article aims to guide the design and implementation of action‐research projects in value‐chain analysis by presenting a strategic framework focused on small producers and trading and processing firms in developing countries. Its stepwise approach – building on the conceptual framework set out in a companion article – covers in detail what to do, questions to be asked and issues to be considered, and integrates poverty, gender, labour and environmental concerns.‘Upgrading’ strategies potentially available for improving value‐chain participation for small producers are identified, with the ultimate purpose of increasing the rewards and/or reducing the risks.     

Some new results on univariate and multivariate permutation tests for ordinal categorical variables under restricted alternatives

In several sciences, especially when dealing with performance evaluation, complex testing problems may arise due in particular to the presence of multidimensional categorical data. In such cases the application of nonparametric methods can represent a reasonable approach. In this paper, we consider the problem of testing whether a “treatment” is stochastically larger than a “control” when univariate and multivariate ordinal categorical data are present. We propose a solution based on the nonparametric combination of dependent permutation tests (Pesarin in Multivariate permutation test with application to biostatistics. Wiley, Chichester, 2001), on variable transformation, and on tests on moments. The solution requires the transformation of categorical response variables into numeric variables and the breaking up of the original problem’s hypotheses into partial sub-hypotheses regarding the moments of the transformed variables. This type of problem is considered to be almost impossible to analyze within likelihood ratio tests, especially in the multivariate case (Wang in J Am Stat Assoc 91:1676–1683, 1996). A comparative simulation study is also presented along with an application example.     

Sociology of a Newcomer: Muslim Migration to Italy - Religious Visibility, Cultural and Political Reactions

The religious presence of Islam in Europe seems to have become an important issue in the public debate. This also relates to the religious visibility of Islam itself. Some considerations will be proposed on this subject. As in other countries of Europe, Islam has also become a significant religious presence in Italy. I will describe the main aspects of this presence, showing some important elements of the sociography of Islam in Italy, and proposing some interpretative criteria in order to understand the main dynamics at work. Finally, I will focus on how Islam and Muslims have become an object of debate in the Italian public space, particularly in political, religious and cultural circles, drawing attention to some aspects of the present, apparently conflictual situation.     

DO BETTER PAID POLITICIANS PERFORM BETTER? DISENTANGLING INCENTIVES FROM SELECTION

The wage paid to politicians affects both the choice of citizens to run for office and the performance of those who are appointed. First, if skilled individuals shy away from politics because of higher opportunities in the private sector, an increase in politicians’ pay may change their mind. Second, if the re‐election prospects of incumbents depend on their in‐office deeds, a higher wage may foster performance. We use data on all Italian municipal governments from 1993 to 2001 and test these hypotheses in a quasi‐experimental setup. In Italy, the wage of mayors depends on population size and sharply rises at different thresholds. We apply a regression discontinuity design to the only threshold that uniquely identifies a wage increase: 5,000 inhabitants. Exploiting the existence of a two‐term limit, we further disentangle the composition from the incentive component of the effect of the wage on performance. Our results show that a higher wage attracts more‐educated candidates, and that better‐paid politicians size down the government machinery by improving efficiency. Importantly, most of this effect is driven by the selection of competent politicians, rather than by the incentive to be re‐elected.     

Discussing Measures of Financial Inclusion for the Main Euro Area Countries

Since financial inclusion has become a policy target in many countries, properly measuring it is crucial. Usual indexes of financial inclusion include inappropriate variables and don’t take into account other relevant aspects, thus misrepresenting the phenomenon. In this work we focus on the diffusion of electronic cards, generally not included in the usual indexes of financial inclusion notwithstanding they provide alternatives to usual saving practices and allow less costly transactions across larger markets and wider geographic areas. We show that, taking these instruments into account, the comparative valuation of the degree of financial inclusion between the main euro area countries changes substantially. We also employ survey data to analyze cross-country differences in the degree of financial inclusion and the distribution of multidimensional deprivations of specific sub-groups of populations.