计量经济分析 = Econometric analysis

The Theory of Monopolistic Competition.

In this paper recent developments in the estimation of frontier functions and the measurement of efficiency are surveyed, and the potential applicability of these methods in agricultural economics is discussed. Frontier production, cost and profit functions are discussed, along with the construction of technical, allocative, scale and overall efficiency measures relative to these estimated frontiers. The two primary methods of frontier estimation, econometric and linear programming, are compared. A survey of recent applications of frontier methods in agriculture is also provided. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Recent Developments in Frontier Modelling and Efficiency Measurement

This paper considers a revisited Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis with potential impact of renewable energy consumption on environmental quality. To this end, paper aims at investigating the validity of the EKC hypothesis employing the dependent variable of CO2 emissions and regressors of GDP, quadratic GDP and renewable energy consumption. This paper, hence, analyzes this revisited EKC hypothesis to observe if (i) there exists an inverted-U shaped relationship between environmental quality (in terms of CO2 emissions), per capita income and per capita income squared and (ii) there exists a negative causality from renewables to CO2 emissions within EKC model.

Paper employs a panel data set of 17 OECD countries over the period 1977–2010 and launches panel FMOLS and panel DOLS estimations. The findings support the EKC hypothesis for the panel and indicate that GDP per capita and GDP per capita squared have the impacts on CO2 emissions positively and negatively, respectively, and that renewable energy consumption yields negative impact on CO2 emissions. Another remark of this paper is that the validity of EKC does not depend on income level of individual countries of panel in which EKC hypothesis holds.

Eventually, paper argues that if countries carry out (i) policies, i.e., for fair and easy access to the electricity from renewable sources and (ii) policies to increase renewables supply through i.e. improved renewable energy technologies, they will be able to contribute to combating global warming problem as they increase their GDP’s.

The dynamic impact of renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions: A revisited Environmental Kuznets Curve approach

Digitalization and energy: How does internet development affect China's energy consumption?

The importance of cultural events for attracting tourism has often been posited in research, but rarely tested in relation to non-cultural activities This paper investigates the association between participation in entertainment activities and tourism flows in Italian provinces, and finds that admission to theatre-type activities increases as the number of domestic tourists rises, whereas admission to museums or concerts rises with an increase in foreign tourists Admissions to exhibitions and shows demonstrate a positive association with both domestic and international tourists, while non-cultural activities remain statistically insignificant The results provide empirical support for the existence of a strong relationship between tourism flows and cultural participation The findings also imply that the demand for entertainment varies depending on the origin of the tourist

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Cultural participation and tourism flows: an empirical investigation of Italian provinces

The links between pollution, institutions, and economic growth may be not so univocal as argued in the literature, as these factors may influence each other since some reverse causality may exist between them. The understanding of this relationship is important for identifying appropriate policies for sustainable development. We investigate the long-run relationship between pollution, institutions, and economic growth, considering as variables carbon dioxide emissions, rule of law, and income. The model offers an analysis of causality direction using a panel-VAR approach for the period 1996–2010 for 33 high-income countries that include advanced, emerging, and former-transition economies. The results demonstrate a positive reverse causality relationship between the rule of law and income, indicating that higher income implies stronger rule of law and vice versa. The rule of law is found to have a negative relationship with pollution, confirming that the enforcement of rules is “a conditio sine qua non” to control emissions. No causality relationship is found for pollution and income that can be due to the different stages of economic development of emerging, former-transition, and developed economies, implying heterogeneity in their environmental protection policies. We argue that the rule of law matters both for economic growth and environment, working as a go-between and creating a win–win situation, where stronger institutions increase the levels of income and vice versa. In order to enhance sustainable development, a policy maker should allocate additional resources for both monitoring the application of the rule of law and its enforcement.

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Environment and economic growth: is the rule of law the go-between? The case of high-income countries

This paper tests whether demand for theatre in Italy is consistent with the model of rational addiction presented in Becker and Murphy (J Polit Econ 96(4):675–700, 1988). Data from a novel 34-year panel on regional annual theatre attendance are used to estimate market demand. Four models are applied to investigate the demand function, and all of these also include per capita income and other control variables as regressors. The first two models are estimated to check whether theatregoers are myopically addicted to theatre. The results suggest that the theatre is an addictive good because past consumption (and prices) significantly raises the marginal utility of current consumption. The third model tests the rational addiction hypothesis, which assumes that future attendance also influences current attendance, whilst past and future prices influence current attendance only indirectly through their impact on past and future attendances. However, our most highly specified model, introducing past and future prices, demonstrates that Italian theatregoers are not myopic but fully rational as outlined in Becker and Murphy (1988). The results demonstrate that the rational addiction hypothesis is applicable not only to “harmful” addictions such as alcohol, cigarettes and drug consumption, but also to “beneficial” addictions, such as theatre attendance. This result has important policy implications because theatre is one of the most subsidised performing arts in Italy; if theatregoers are fully rational, policy makers can influence theatre attendance using alternative policy instruments (price and income), thereby reducing government expenditure on theatre subsidies.

Rational addiction and cultural goods: the case of the Italian theatregoer

In response to the growing body of literature on the relationship between the environment and institutions, this study investigates how the rule of law influences the turning point of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). Using Bradford et al.’s (2005) and Leitao’s (2010) alternative specification of the EKC that avoids non-linear transformation of potentially non-stationary regressors, we find evidence for the EKC in European countries for carbon emissions. Our results show a negative relationship between pollution and the rule of law, demonstrating that when the rule of law is strong, the turning point of the EKC occurs at a lower level of per capita income, thus, enhancing environmental preservation. Since the rule of law provides a composite institutional framework, we argue that the solution to environmental degradation can be sought not only through institutional reforms, but also through the allocation of additional resources to provide an adequate regulatory context in which this institution is enforced.

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Rule of law and the environmental Kuznets curve: evidence for carbon emissions

We investigate the factors attracting FDI into highly diversified Russian regions during the phase of transition, and verify the impact of transition experience on the current FDI inflow. Using cross-sectional and panel data, we demonstrate that the highly inhomogeneous investment pattern is explained, in addition to classical demand factors, by specific economic and socio-institutional regional characteristics. Russia appears as an idiosyncratic country where foreign investors seek a stable social and institutional context. Using recent FDI data we show that transition experiences influence current FDI inflow, particularly when the strength of the institutional environment and availability of infrastructures are taken into account.

Concetta Castiglione

Papers

Cultural participation and tourism flows: an empirical investigation of Italian provinces

Environment and economic growth: is the rule of law the go-between? The case of high-income countries

Rational addiction and cultural goods: the case of the Italian theatregoer

Rule of law and the environmental Kuznets curve: evidence for carbon emissions

FDI determinants in an idiosyncratic country. A reappraisal over the Russian regions during transition years