Optimal scale in the Italian gas distribution industry using data envelopment analysis

The Italian gas distribution industry presents a high degree of fragmentation. However, the tendency between 1970 and 1998 was a concentration process. Available evidence supports the thesis that local distributors have undertaken a process of scale enlargement. This raises the question of characteristics of returns to scale for such operators as well as the optimal scale at which they should operate. Returns to scale are analysed by data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology. The results show that the output space in which DMUs attain a high level of scale efficiency is widespread, thus indicating an unexpected return to scale characterisation. Technology shows increasing returns only for the smallest units, but such an effect is rapidly exhausted in favour of a regime of constant returns to scale. The main managerial conclusion is that an improvement of productivity may be reached via an intensification of the merging process involving local distributors operating at a small scale. Moreover, the concentration process appears as an “attainable” objective since the critical dimension, which permits the exploitation of positive returns to scale, is quite small.     

Shaping the digital transformation of the retail banking industry. Empirical evidence from Italy

Although numerous studies have investigated the determinants of users’ acceptance of online channels, little attention has been paid to the continuous usage of a direct bank. To address this research gap, we analysed data collected via semi-structured interviews and a survey questionnaire distributed in 2017 to a sample of Italian bank customers. Responses were evaluated using a different statistical methodology based on the Shapley Value regression analysis. In brief, user-friendliness and economic advantages appear to be more decisive at an early stage of adoption. Moreover, structural assurance mechanisms (e.g. clarifying security policies and guarantees) have a robust impact on keeping customers online and loyal to electronic channels. Surprisingly, accessibility and compatibility do not seem to be determinant factors.     

Acyclically 3-colorable planar graphs

In this paper we study the acyclic 3-colorability of some subclasses of planar graphs. First, we show that there exist infinite classes of cubic planar graphs that are not acyclically 3-colorable. Then, we show that every planar graph has a subdivision with one vertex per edge that is acyclically 3-colorable and provide a linear-time coloring algorithm. Finally, we characterize the series-parallel graphs for which every 3-coloring is acyclic and provide a linear-time recognition algorithm for such graphs.     

Larger posterior mode wavelet thresholding and applications

This paper explores the thresholding rules induced by a variation of the Bayesian MAP principle. The MAP rules are Bayes actions that maximize the posterior. The proposed rule is thresholding and always picks the mode of the posterior larger in absolute value, thus the name LPM. We demonstrate that the introduced shrinkage performs comparably to several popular shrinkage techniques. The exact risk properties of the thresholding rule are explored, as well. We provide extensive simulational analysis and apply the proposed methodology to real-life experimental data coming from the field of atomic force microscopy.     

Do Economic Recovery Packages Open a Window of Opportunity for Corruption and Mismanagement? The Case of Italy in the Aftermath of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Public Organization Review - This paper explores the effects of the pandemic on corruption and mismanagement in Italy, a country where the Covid-19 crisis is supposed to have significantly...     

Money and Credit Redux

We analyze money and credit as competing payment instruments in decentralized exchange. In natural environments, we show the economy does not need both: if credit is easy, money is irrelevant; if credit is tight, money is essential, but credit becomes irrelevant. Changes in credit conditions are neutral because real balances respond endogenously to keep total liquidity constant. This is true for both exogenous and endogenous debt limits and policy limits, secured and unsecured lending, and general pricing mechanisms. While we show how to overturn some of these results, the benchmark model suggests credit might matter less than people think.     

Lean and green supply chain management through intermodal transport: insights from the fast moving consumer goods industry

Combining efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability is crucial for companies to succeed in today’s context of fierce competition. This paper investigates how intermodal transport can be adopted for managing supply chains according to a Lean and Green approach. A scenario-based estimation tool was developed to quantify the potential demand for intermodal transport. The tool was applied to the Italian Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) supply chain. Following, a single longitudinal case study on an FMCG company (Procter & Gamble) was carried out to investigate the enabling factors for the adoption of intermodal transport. Our results show that it is possible to shift demand from road to rail: a number of pathways for action were identified that related to planning and management, assets, train services, collaboration, legal issues and incentive schemes. Also, a collaborative business model for making the modal shift possible was presented. This paper is original because it offers an investigation of Lean and Green Supply Chain Management through intermodal transport by adopting a supply chain perspective and providing a bridging link between academic studies and field evidence.     

Erratum to: Equivalence scales,the cost of children and household consumption patterns in Italy

This article deals with the estimation of parametric equivalence scales for Italian households with different demographic characteristics: composition, location and number of employed members in the household. Using a sample of 43,701 observations on monthly current expenditures from 1997 to 2004 we estimate a demand system for ten goods and we tackle the problem of corner solutions for some goods adopting the Two Step estimator proposed by Shonkweiler and Yen (Am J Agric Econ 81:972–982, 1999). The consumption behavior of households is also analyzed calculating compensated, uncompensated and expenditure elasticites for each commodity. By considering households that differ in composition (number of children), geographic location (four-different macro-areas of Italy), and number of employed adults, we allow for a range of useful comparisons.     

Invariant dependence structure under univariate truncation

The class of all bivariate copulas that are invariant under univariate truncation is characterized. To this end, a family of bivariate copulas generated by a real-valued function is introduced. The obtained results are also used in order to show that the Clayton family of copulas (including its limiting elements) coincides with the class of copulas that are invariant under bivariate truncation and contains all exchangeable copulas which are invariant under univariate truncation.