Libera!

About: Libera! is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Bellman equation & European union. The organization has 501 authors who have published 571 publications receiving 7962 citations.

[Philosophers, physicists and physicians in defense of the unity of the scientific method]

Abstract: The falsifiability of scientific knowledge is an acquired result of contemporary philosophy of science and yet there is not a universal consensus upon the idea of the unity of scientific method. Albeit there are differences in techniques of testing (methodics) hypotheses in the vast field of research, the author, following the critical rationalism of Karl Popper, favors the perspective of the unity of method in natural as well in social and philological sciences.

Accounting rules and value relevance: A new perspective from the Italian market

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to question the basic assumption of the higher value relevance (meaning its superior ability to represent the value of assets and liabilities) of the International Accounting Standard (IAS-IFRS), as compared to Italian accounting practices. Value relevance refers to the vast literature which investigates if and how financial data includes useful information for investors; in other words, if it represents a robust basis for their investment decisions. Analyzing both Anglo-Saxon and other European countries, the literature shows a heterogeneous scenario and divergent results. Unlike previous studies, this study links market and book values by means of the price to book value ratio, considering a sample of Italian listed companies on the Mercato Telematico Azionario, the main segment of the Italian Stock Exchange. Moreover, to strengthen the empirical results the research takes into account a longer period (1996-2015), bearing in mind the change in Italian accounting practices occurring in 2005 as a result of the adoption of IAS-IFRS. The study is consistent with that part of the literature which argues that the accounting discipline underlying IAS-IFRS shows a discrepancy between its theoretical purpose of expressing the current value of a company and its applicable accounting standards. In this respect, the results obtained are somewhat different from the mainstream view, suggesting that the introduction of the IAS-IFRS does not contribute to reducing the gap between the stock market capitalization and the respective book value of a company. Therefore, the Italian national accounting discipline, based on conservative accounting, quite surprisingly appears more value relevant; in other words, it seems to be more able to capture the business value assumed by investors.

Brief Announcement: Phase Transitions of the k-Majority Dynamics in a Biased Communication Model

Abstract: We analyze the binary-state (either ℛ or ℬ) k-majority dynamics in a biased communication model where nodes have some fixed probability p, independent of the dynamics, of being seen in state ℬ by their neighbors. In this setting we study how p, as well as the initial unbalance between the two states, impact on the speed of convergence of the process, identifying sharp phase transitions.

The heterogeneous thresholds ordered response model: Identification and inference

Abstract: Although surveys routinely ask respondents to evaluate various aspects of their life on an ordered scale, there is concern about interpersonal comparability of these self-assessments. Statistically, the problem is one of identification in ordered response models with heterogeneous thresholds. As a solution to the identification problem, King et al. (2004) proposed using anchoring vignettes, namely brief descriptions of hypothetical people or situations that survey respondents are asked to evaluate on the same scale they use to rate their own situation. While vignettes have been introduced in several social surveys and are increasingly employed in a variety of fields, reliability of this approach hinges crucially on the validity of the assumptions of response consistency and vignette equivalence. This paper proposes a joint test of these key assumptions based on the fact that the underlying statistical model is overidentified if the two assumptions hold. Monte Carlo results show that the proposed test has good size and power properties in finite samples. We apply our test to self-assessment of pain using data from the first wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). We find that, when using only one of the three available vignettes, or when the test is carried out separately by subgroups of respondents, the overidentifying restrictions are less likely to be rejected.

Single eComms market? No such thing

Abstract: Notwithstanding the undeniable success of telecoms liberalization in terms of price reduction, new services and technologies as well as consumer satisfaction, EU telecoms policy is at least a half failure. This might seem hard to believe, but we show in this paper that there is no such thing as an EU telecoms (or eComms) single market. We provide ample empirical economic and regulatory evidence of profound and lingering fragmentation as well as a brief assessment of the flaws of the eComms package as amended in 2009, and recently entered into force. Overcoming the fragmentation cannot but yield a considerable welfare improvement for the Union, which is exactly what a single market should be expected to deliver. Doing away with the flaws in the EU system requires a better institutional design. We wonder whether the regulatory (and competition policy) approach is really suitable for the Union and whether the fundamental conflict between the EU constitutional doctrine and the building of the single market (just as much a constitutional duty!) should not be resolved in novel ways.