‘Implicit’ remittances in family relationships: The case of Bangladeshis in Italy and beyond

In this article – based on 100 in-depth interviews with divided and reunited Bangladeshi families in Italy, Bangladesh, and London – we discuss how remittances are influenced by gender relations within the family, what social meanings they assume, what family memberships they reinforce, how the intertwining between migration and family cycle affects them. By adopting an intersectional approach, we show how economic transfers are normally sent to the family of the first-migrant man, although they may assist the emigration of the wife's male relatives: a phenomenon that we call ‘implicit remittances’. A second set of results concerns changes over time in remittances and two events of the family cycle are decisive: the family reunification in Italy and the demise of parents in the country of origin. In both cases, remittances are reduced, cease, or are limited to gifts in particular circumstances.     

Maximum likelihood estimation of bivariate circular hidden Markov models from incomplete data

In this paper, we propose a hidden Markov model for the analysis of the time series of bivariate circular observations, by assuming that the data are sampled from bivariate circular densities, whose parameters are driven by the evolution of a latent Markov chain. The model segments the data by accounting for redundancies due to correlations along time and across variables. A computationally feasible expectation maximization (EM) algorithm is provided for the maximum likelihood estimation of the model from incomplete data, by treating the missing values and the states of the latent chain as two different sources of incomplete information. Importance-sampling methods facilitate the computation of bootstrap standard errors of the estimates. The methodology is illustrated on a bivariate time series of wind and wave directions and compared with popular segmentation models for bivariate circular data, which ignore correlations across variables and/or along time.     

“The adoption and implementation of performance measurement process in Italian public organisations: the influence of political,cultural and rational factors”

One of the main challenges in the field of performance measurement and management in public organisations is about how to use and manage performance measures effectively. This study aims to examine the stages involved in the process of utilisation of performance measures, i.e. adoption and implementation, and to investigate the political, cultural and rational factors that affect this process. For this purpose, a theoretical model from the literature has been extended and tested by using the data gathered through a survey involving the managers of several departments of Italian regions and municipal districts. The final sample has included 201 usable observations. The data analysis has been conducted using structural equation modelling. A significant cause-and-effect relationship was found between the stages of adoption and implementation. Moreover, it was found that adoption is driven significantly by rational factors. Otherwise actual implementation is influenced by factors addressed both by political considerations, such as external interest groups and by rational evaluations such as resources. The effects of other rational and cultural factors on implementation stage are mediated by adoption.     

A Class of Multidimensional Latent Class IRT Models for Ordinal Polytomous Item Responses

We propose a class of multidimensional Item Response Theory models for polytomously-scored items with ordinal response categories. This class extends an existing class of multidimensional models for dichotomously-scored items in which the latent abilities are represented by a random vector assumed to have a discrete distribution, with support points corresponding to different latent classes in the population. In the proposed approach, we allow for different parameterizations for the conditional distribution of the response variables given the latent traits, which depend on the type of link function and the constraints imposed on the item parameters. Moreover, we suggest a strategy for model selection that is based on a series of steps consisting of selecting specific features, such as the dimension of the model (number of latent traits), the number of latent classes, and the specific parameterization. In order to illustrate the proposed approach, we analyze a dataset from a study on anxiety and depression on a sample of oncological patients.     

Statistical Modeling of Temporal Dependence in Financial Data via a Copula Function

In financial analysis it is useful to study the dependence between two or more time series as well as the temporal dependence in a univariate time series. This article is concerned with the statistical modeling of the dependence structure in a univariate financial time series using the concept of copula. We treat the series of financial returns as a first order Markov process. The Archimedean two-parameter BB7 copula is adopted to describe the underlying dependence structure between two consecutive returns, while the log-Dagum distribution is employed to model the margins marked by skewness and kurtosis. A simulation study is carried out to evaluate the performance of the maximum likelihood estimates. Furthermore, we apply the model to the daily returns of four stocks and, finally, we illustrate how its fitting to data can be improved when the dependence between consecutive returns is described through a copula function.     

Evidence for multiple strategies in choice under risk

This paper describes an experimental study that yields evidence for the coexistence of two decision strategies of choice under risk. Under the first strategy, choices are made based on aspiration levels – a heuristic that simplifies risky decisions. Under the second strategy, which can be used when aspiration levels are not determinative, choices are made based on preferences for positive skewness. Our model fitting confirms the efficacy of a two-pronged approach that can marshal either strategy depending on specific features of the risky prospects under consideration.     

Misspecification tests for periodic long memory GARCH models

Distributional theory for Quasi-Maximum Likelihood estimators in long memory conditional heteroskedastic models is not formally defined, even asymptotically. Because of that, this paper analyses the real size and power of the likelihood ratio and the Lagrange multiplier misspecification tests when periodic long memory GARCH models are involved. The performance of these tests is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations with respect to the class of generalized long memory GARCH models. For this class of models, analytical derivatives are developed. An application to the USD/JPY exchange rate is also provided.     

A politico-economic model of aging,technology adoption and growth

This paper provides a politico-economic theory that explains how an economy evolves when the longevity of its citizens is jointly determined with the process of economic development. We propose a three-period overlapping generation model where agents’ decisions embrace two dimensions: a private choice about education and a public one on innovation policy. We find that (a) poverty traps can emerge in human capital accumulation, (b) higher life expectancy increases the incentive to innovate for both young and adults, (c) different political configurations can arise depending on endogenous demographic structures and (d) the steady state can entertain both innovation and its absence.     

The Impact of Income and Employment Status on Leaving Home: Evidence from the Italian ECHP Sample

In this paper we investigate the role economic resources play in the decision of young Italian adults to leave the parental home. This is of particular interest given that, in Italy, young people leave home considerably later than in other European countries. We use the first two waves of the Italian sample of the European Community Household Panel. We use a Heckman selection‐type probit procedure to account for left censoring and unobserved heterogeneity. We find that economic circumstances are important. In particular, we find personal income resources, as well as parental income levels, to be crucial in leaving home. Our results suggest that stable employment is an important prerequisite for men to start their own household. For women, on the other hand, finding a partner seems to the most important factor in becoming independent of their parents.