Margherita Scarlato

Bio: Margherita Scarlato is an academic researcher from Roma Tre University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Cash transfers & Social protection. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 58 publications receiving 299 citations. Previous affiliations of Margherita Scarlato include Sapienza University of Rome.

Addressing Food Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Cash Transfers

Abstract: Food insecurity, a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon, is currently one of the inter-national community’s main priorities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). As food insecurity in this region is most widespread in pockets of extreme poverty, particularly in rural areas, traditional agricultural or general economic interventions alone are unlikely to generate substantial improvements. Instead, there is ample scope for social protection schemes. This paper investigates the role played by rapidly expanding cash transfers (CTs) in enhancing food security. First, it offers an innovative conceptual framework for explaining the channels through which CT programmes can affect the various aspects of food security. It also illustrates how specific design features of CT programmes may generate effects through little known pathways, such as women’s empowerment and improved intra-household decision-making. Second, based on this conceptual framework, the paper provides a systematic review of evidence of the effects of CT programmes on different aspects of food security in middle-income and low-income countries in SSA. A rigorous overview based on a comprehensive conceptual framework is missing from the literature, as most of the overview papers published to date have concentrated on the specific effects of CT programmes on monetary poverty, human capital accumulation or food expenditure. The paper shows that CTs offer great potential for enhancing households’ access to food, as long as they take full account of: the targeting of beneficiaries; the regularity of payments; the size of monetary transfers; the need to amass political support. In order to enhance all the different aspects of food security in the medium to long-term, CTs should be integrated with other interventions such as public works programmes, nutritional education, nutritional supplements for vulnerable groups, and economic policies. This is the main rationale behind the planned new phase of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) in Ethiopia. Francesco Burchi is researcher at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut fur Entwicklungspolitik (DIE); Margherita Scarlato and Giorgio d'Agostino are researchers at the Department of Economics at Roma Tre University. Francesco Burchi is researcher at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut fur Entwicklungspolitik (DIE); Margherita Scarlato and Giorgio d'Agostino are researchers at the Department of Economics at Roma Tre University.

Social Enterprise, Capabilities and Development Paradigms: Lessons from Ecuador

Abstract: Recently, social movements in Latin America have affirmed the ‘buen vivir’ development paradigm that pursues the social and solidarity economy model in reaction to mainstream development strategies. In this paper we explore the features of the social economy that has emerged from the social movement resistance in Ecuador. We have two aims. First, to contribute to the comparative analysis of the varying patterns in the evolution of social enterprise around the world. Second, to provide general theoretical insights into the ways in which the social economy relates to the contemporary debate on alternative development paradigms.

Innovation, Socio-institutional Conditions and Economic Growth in the Italian Regions

Abstract: D'Agostino G. and Scarlato M. Innovation, socio-institutional conditions and economic growth in the Italian regions, Regional Studies. An explanatory investigation is carried out into the relationship between social and institutional contextual factors and economic growth in the Italian regions. A three-sector semi-endogenous growth model with negative externalities related to the social and institutional variables affecting the innovative capacity of regional economic systems is constructed. The empirical investigation confirms the presence of non-linearities that depend on the socio-institutional conditions constituting constraints on the translation of innovation into economic growth. The paper suggests that policies targeting the enhancement of local socio-institutional conditions have major repercussions for the innovation capacity and economic growth of the lagging southern regions.

Social Enterprise and Development Policy: Evidence from Italy

Abstract: This paper examines the role of social enterprise in relation to the specific features of the Italian socio-economic context It argues that in this case it is appropriate to discuss the concept of social enterprise within the theoretical framework of human development and Amartya Sen's capability approach The focus is thus an analysis of the evolution of social enterprises in Italy, and social co-operatives in particular, in pursuit of two aims On the one hand, the study shows the importance of the social economy in the Italian regions with regard to the welfare system and development policies; on the other, it outlines both the positive and the disappointing aspects of policies implemented at central and local level Finally, the conclusions indicate both the institutional dynamics that could strengthen social enterprise in Italy and the potential contribution of these enterprises to the economic and human development of the poorer southern regions

Knowledge Externalities, Innovation and Growth in European Countries: The Role of Institutions

Abstract: This paper provides an empirical analysis of the linkages between institutions and economic growth in the European context and highlights innovation as the intermediate variable that drives this in...

Inequality and Growth: What Can the Data Say?

Abstract: This paper describes the correlations between inequality and the growth rates in cross-country data. Using non-parametric methods, we show that the growth rate is an inverted U-shaped function of net changes in inequality: Changes in inequality (in any direction) are associated with reduced growth in the next period. The estimated relationship is robust to variations in control variables and estimation methods. This inverted U-curve is consistent with a simple political economy model, although, as we point out, efforts to interpret this model causally run into difficult identification problems. We show that this non-linearity is sufficient to explain why previous estimates of the relationship between the level of inequality and growth are so different from one another.

Do Institutions Matter for Regional Development

Abstract: Rodriguez-Pose A. Do institutions matter for regional development?, Regional Studies. This paper discusses whether institutions matter for regional development and how to integrate them in regional development strategies. It is found that while institutions are crucial for economic development, generating an institution-based regional development strategy is likely to be undermined by the lack of definition of what are efficient institutions. Problems related to the measurement of institutions, to their space and time variability, to the difficulties in establishing the right mix of formal and informal institutions, and to the endogeneity between institutions and economic development make one-size-fits-all approaches to operationalizing institutions difficult. The paper posits that, in order to overcome these problems, it is crucial to distinguish between the ‘institutional environment’ and ‘institutional arrangements’, that is, to target not the institutions which shape the unique character of any territ...