Alessandro Varacca

Bio: Alessandro Varacca is an academic researcher from Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. The author has contributed to research in topics: Supply chain & Common Agricultural Policy. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 13 publications receiving 130 citations.

The Effects of Air Pollution on COVID-19 Related Mortality in Northern Italy.

Abstract: Long-term exposure to ambient air pollutant concentrations is known to cause chronic lung inflammation, a condition that may promote increased severity of COVID-19 syndrome caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). In this paper, we empirically investigate the ecologic association between long-term concentrations of area-level fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and excess deaths in the first quarter of 2020 in municipalities of Northern Italy. The study accounts for potentially spatial confounding factors related to urbanization that may have influenced the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 and related COVID-19 mortality. Our epidemiological analysis uses geographical information (e.g., municipalities) and negative binomial regression to assess whether both ambient PM2.5 concentration and excess mortality have a similar spatial distribution. Our analysis suggests a positive association of ambient PM2.5 concentration on excess mortality in Northern Italy related to the COVID-19 epidemic. Our estimates suggest that a one-unit increase in PM2.5 concentration (µg/m3) is associated with a 9% (95% confidence interval: 6-12%) increase in COVID-19 related mortality.

Economic Aspects of Segregation between GM and Non-GM Crops in Italy

Abstract: The worldwide area dedicated to GM crops has been steadily increasing over the last 20 years and, to date, more than 150 million hectares are devoted to these varieties (Tillie, Vigani, Dillen, & Rodríguez Cerezo, 2012). In countries where these technologies are available, the rate of adoption is generally high. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service [FAS], 2012a, 2012b), the United States, with 69.5 million hectares of GM crops planted in 2012, is the largest producer in the world. Brazil ranks second, with nearly 36.6 million hectares of GM maize, soybean, and cotton in the 2012/2013 marketing year. The adoption rate of GM soybean reached 85% in 2011/2012 (21 million hectares), whereas the share of GM cotton was about 32% (490,000 hectares) and that of GM maize was 67% (almost 10 million hectares). By July 2012, Brazil had 34 genetically engineered crops approved—19 maize varieties, 9 cotton, and 5 soybeans. Argentina, with 23.6 million hectares in 2011/2012, provides almost 15% of the total world production and is the third largest producer (USDA FAS, 2012c, 2012d). Although these data provide a clear picture of the adoption of GM crops around the world, assessing the size of non-GM production is more difficult. This value is not simply the difference between the total production and the GM one, as a non-GM crop is defined according to specific labels requiring thresholds for GM admixture and certifications of compliance. Production data of identity-preserved (IP) non-GM crops are even more difficult to derive; non-GM IP crops require stricter controls along the supply chain, third party certification, and a stronger commitment of all the parties involved. Therefore, most estimates rely on trade data, although they mostly provide upper limits rather than ranges (Tillie et al., 2012). The demand for non-GM crops has three main destination markets (EU, South Korea, and Japan) and remained stable over the last ten years. According to the European feed industry association (FEFAC), almost 15% of the EU compound feed production is certified as non-GM. Poultry is the sector with the strongest demand for non-GM feed, as a significant part of poultry meat is sold under some sort of quality labels (i.e., organic) requiring non-GM feeding. Moreover, soybean meal—for its characteristics—is hardly replaceable in poultry, piglet, and calf feeding, while cattle and mature animals can find more substitutes (Bertheau & Davison, 2011). The EU is almost self-sufficient for maize; only 10% of the internal consumption relies on imports (nearly 6.2 million of metric tons [MMt]), 75% of which are nonGM and originate mainly from Ukraine and Brazil (USDA FAS, 2012b). Instead, the EU is a net importer of soybeans and soybean meal, with non-GM varieties imported mainly from Brazil. Although the rate of adoption of GM maize and soybean crops in Brazil has been steadily increasing over the last few years, this country is still the largest world exporter of non-GM soybean Alessandro Varacca, Stefano Boccaletti, and Claudio Soregaroli Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy This article assesses the food supply chain for non-GM soybean meal, with particular regard to the upstream stages between overseas producers, international trading companies, and their supply to Italian feed producers. Using transaction-cost economics as a methodological framework and the information collected from a set of interviews with industry representatives, we describe the organizational arrangements that agents adopt to minimize transaction costs. Consistently with theory, we examine the impact of uncertainty on the coordination arrangements. We focus on two dimensions of uncertainty—product-quality uncertainty and environmental uncertainty. We argue that the actual organizational arrangements between transactors are consistent with the theory that, whereas product-quality uncertainty and some degree of asset specificity would lead to vertically integrated forms of governance, environmental uncertainty operates in the opposite direction.

A meta-analysis of the capitalisation of CAP direct payments into land prices

Abstract: The impact of the European Union common agricultural policy direct payments on land prices has received substantial attention in recent years, leading to heterogeneous evidence of capitalisation for both coupled and decoupled payments. In this paper, we provide an extensive review of the empirical works addressing this issue econometrically and compare their results through a Bayesian meta-regression model, focussing on the impact of decoupling and its implementation schemes. We find that the introduction of decoupled payments increased the capitalisation rate, although the extent of this increment hinges on the implementation scheme adopted by the member state.

Adopting environmentally-friendly certifications : Transaction cost and capabilities perspectives within the Italian wine supply chain

Abstract: Environmentally-friendly certifications have increased over the past decade within food supply chains. Although a large body of literature has explored the drivers leading firms to adopt such certifications, it has not closely examined the strategic motivations associated with their adoption. This paper aims to investigate an environmentally-friendly certification, VIVA, examining its role as an alternative form of supply chain governance. The aim is to investigate the drivers affecting the adoption of VIVA and to assess managerial perceptions related to transaction-related characteristics and the firm’s internal resources and capabilities.,This study draws upon both an extended transaction cost economics perspective, which is based on transaction risks and the resource-based view, which examines a firm’s internal resources. A survey was conducted via a structured questionnaire sent to all of the wine producers in charge of the decision regarding whether to adopt VIVA certification. A Hierarchal Bayesian Model was applied to analyse questionnaire responses. Such a model allows us to specify the probabilistic relationship between questions and latent constructs and to carry over uncertainty across modelling levels.,The adoption of this environmentally-friendly certification is envisioned as a tool to curb internal risks, and thus to manage behavioural uncertainty within the supply chain. A high level of exposure to exogenous transaction risks discourages firms from adopting VIVA certification. The certification system is not perceived as a promoter of operational capabilities. Managers are more likely to implement the certification when they expect that its adoption will leverage their potential knowledge of the supply chain or prompt new and better collaborations with the suppliers. Therefore, the certification can become a resource that interacts with the capabilities of the firm, expressing complementarities that stimulate the formation of dynamic capabilities.,The identification of drivers from the two theoretical perspectives offers insights into the attributes that are perceived as important by managers and which, therefore, could be leveraged to foster the adoption of the environmental certification. The external validity of the study could be improved by extending the sample to other certifications and supply chains.,The study offers a different perspective on environmental certification. It demonstrates that considering the certification as an alternative form of supply chain governance opens up a set of efficiency and strategic considerations that could be addressed to promote the effectiveness of an environmental strategy within a supply chain

A natural resource-based view of the firm

Abstract: Historically, management theory has ignored the constraints imposed by the biophysical (natural) environment. Building upon resource-based theory, this article attempts to fill this void by proposing a natural-resource-based view of the firm—a theory of competitive advantage based upon the firm's relationship to the natural environment. It is composed of three interconnected strategies: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Propositions are advanced for each of these strategies regarding key resource requirements and their contributions to sustained competitive advantage.

Meta-Regression Methods for Detecting and Estimating Empirical Effects in the Presence of Publication Selection

Abstract: This study investigates the small-sample performance of meta-regression methods for detecting and estimating genuine empirical effects in research literatures tainted by publication selection. Publication selection exists when editors, reviewers or researchers have a preference for statistically significant results. Meta-regression methods are found to be robust against publication selection. Even if a literature is dominated by large and unknown misspecification biases, precision-effect testing and joint precision-effect/meta-significance testing can provide viable strategies for detecting genuine empirical effects. Publication biases are greatly reduced by combining two biased estimates, the estimated meta-regression coefficient on precision (1/Se) and the unadjusted average effect.

Spatial variation of PM2.5, PM10, PM2.5 absorbance and PMcoarse concentrations between and within 20 European study areas and the relationship with NO2 - Results of the ESCAPE project

Abstract: Abstract The ESCAPE study (European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects) investigates relationships between long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution and health using cohort studies across Europe. This paper analyses the spatial variation of PM 2.5 , PM 2.5 absorbance, PM 10 and PM coarse concentrations between and within 20 study areas across Europe. We measured NO 2 , NO x , PM 2.5 , PM 2.5 absorbance and PM 10 between October 2008 and April 2011 using standardized methods. PM coarse was determined as the difference between PM 10 and PM 2.5 . In each of the twenty study areas, we selected twenty PM monitoring sites to represent the variability in important air quality predictors, including population density, traffic intensity and altitude. Each site was monitored over three 14-day periods spread over a year, using Harvard impactors. Results for each site were averaged after correcting for temporal variation using data obtained from a reference site, which was operated year-round. Substantial concentration differences were observed between and within study areas. Concentrations for all components were higher in Southern Europe than in Western and Northern Europe, but the pattern differed per component with the highest average PM 2.5 concentrations found in Turin and the highest PM coarse in Heraklion. Street/urban background concentration ratios for PM coarse (mean ratio 1.42) were as large as for PM 2.5 absorbance (mean ratio 1.38) and higher than those for PM 2.5 (1.14) and PM 10 (1.23), documenting the importance of non-tailpipe emissions. Correlations between components varied between areas, but were generally high between NO 2 and PM 2.5 absorbance (average R 2 = 0.80). Correlations between PM 2.5 and PM coarse were lower (average R 2 = 0.39). Despite high correlations, concentration ratios between components varied, e.g. the NO 2 /PM 2.5 ratio varied between 0.67 and 3.06. In conclusion, substantial variability was found in spatial patterns of PM 2.5 , PM 2.5 absorbance, PM 10 and PM coarse . The highly standardized measurement of particle concentrations across Europe will contribute to a consistent assessment of health effects across Europe.

Epidermal growth factor receptor

Abstract: EGFR and Lung Cancer “When I began my postdoc in Harold Varmus’ lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2004, EGFR kinase domain mutations had been discovered in lung adenocarcinoma patients,” said Udayan Guha, M.D., Ph.D., Investigator in CCR’s Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch. “Companies were developing drugs against EGFR and expecting that all patients would respond.” Unfortunately, only approximately 10 percent of lung cancer patients responded to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the United States, and while those responses were striking early on, they soon led to relapse and drug resistance. Efforts ensued to sequence EGFR in tumors, and multiple mutations in the kinase domain were discovered. Guha wanted to know why tumors were so dependent on EGFR signaling and what was happening downstream of the wild-type receptor and of the different mutant receptors, and in response to TKIs, which target EGFR. He began looking at patterns of phosphorylation of proteins. “I started my own lab at CCR in 2011, and I continued to work on EGFR-dependent phosphorylation in human lung carcinoma cell lines. My lab has worked with first, second, and now third generation TKIs,” said Guha. “We are trying to discover the differences between sensitive and resistant cells, and also how the dynamics of phosphorylation change with TKI treatment. Our overall goal is to identify actionable targets to overcome drug resistance.” Guha and his colleagues use mass spectrometry to identify phosphorylated proteins and to quantify the degree of phosphorylation as an initial unbiased proteomics screen for studying EGFR signaling. Using this approach, his team recently identified the protein MIG-6 as a suppressor of EGFR. They found it was constitutively phosphorylated on two particular tyrosine residues in cells engineered to express cancercausing mutations of EGFRs; with the Inhibiting the

New Institutions for Governing the Agri-food Industry

Abstract: This paper argues that developing, signalling and monitoring quality in the agri-food industry has become a central issue that requires hybrid organisations and institutions. We examine the forces pushing the industry towards hybrid arrangements, and then extend our analysis to alternative institutional solutions designed for guaranteeing food safety. Our core thesis is that increasingly centralised modes of organisation are gaining ground in the coordination of transactions and that they are substituting private institutions for public policies. We argue that these solutions should be assessed in a transaction cost perspective.