OPENNESS TO TRADE AND INDUSTRY COST DISPERSION: EVIDENCE FROM A PANEL OF ITALIAN FIRMS*

ABSTRACT We use Italian firm‐level data to investigate the impact of trade openness on the distribution of firms across marginal cost levels. In so doing, we implement a procedure that allows us to control not only for the standard transmission bias identified in firm‐level TFP regressions but also for the omitted price bias due to imperfect competition. We find that more open industries are characterized by a smaller dispersion of costs across active firms. Moreover, in those industries the average cost is also smaller.     

The Roman quarries at Antinoopolis (Egypt): development and techniques

The aim of this research was the survey and the study of the many quarries located in the first spurs of the Gebel el-’Adila, close to Antinoopolis (Middle Egypt). These quarries are an excellent opportunity for observation and research concerning the “landscape archives” and preserve traces of man’s activity, representing a real cultural heritage. The paper gives a short geological setting of the area and reports our recent study (2006 onward) on traces, typologies, methods and development of the quarrying activity in the area, focussing on the Roman period. The working traces allowed us to define the working tools used for quarrying, the organisation of the works and of the quarry exploitation, as in the area many remains of the quarry organisation network are extant or recognisable, such as: service posts, sledge-ways, docks.     

The search for historical experience

In the first part of my paper I will try to reconstruct a series of attempts at dialogue between history and the social sciences made by historians connected with the “Annales” (Marc Bloch, Ernest Labrousse, Giovanni Levi, Bernard Lepetit). What these attempts have in common is the idea that in history, as in the natural sciences, it is to some extent possible to carry out forms of experimentation on the sources, and that the inclusion of history among the human sciences, and even the scientific future of the discipline itself, ultimately depend on the adoption of this method. In the second part I will discuss the relationship that links historical experimentation with lived experience, and I will conclude by discussing the possible meaning of the idea of experimenting with the sources of history.     

Effects of Soil Characterization on the Seismic Input

This paper is aimed at determining the effects of the soil characterization on the seismic input to use for seismic assessment. Three different soil profiles have been assembled to represent the stratigraphies found through a proper experimental investigation, carefully described, and alternative seismic site response analyses have been performed. The surface spectra obtained from the seismic site response analysis (SRA) are very different from each other, thus evidencing the importance of carefully describing soil stratigraphy. Furthermore, the comparison among the surface records found for different return periods has shown a limited sensitivity of the SRA to the seismic intensity.     

Crack Patterns Induced by Foundation Settlements: Integrated Analysis on a Renaissance Masonry Palace in Italy

This study presents some numerical results related to the analysis of the structural damage of a historic masonry building, Palazzo Gulinelli, in Ferrara, Italy. A detailed analysis of the inhomogeneities of the facade, historic documentation, and recent restoration interventions carried out in an adjacent building, suggest that the Palace underwent various modifications both on the structural configuration and on the borne loads. Such modifications might be the main cause of some differential settlements and of the consequent significant crack pattern on the load-bearing walls. Therefore, in the present paper the occurrence of a crack pattern on the facade is simulated by carrying out standard linear and non-linear finite element (FE) homogenized models; differential settlements are applied in order to reproduce the structural changes occurred over time. Previous experiences of the authors (for example, Acito and Milani in 2012 and Mallardo et al. in 2008), the current crack pattern of the building (of its facade in particular) and the monitoring data referring to some of them are the main references for the analysis carried out. The structural survey, the numerical results, and the data monitoring suggest two main conclusions: 1) a good correlation between numerical results and monitoring data is assessed, therefore the cracks can be reasonably related to past differential settlements; and 2) the cracks/damage that occurred as a consequence of differential foundation settlements reduce the ability of the facade to resist seismic actions.     

Sustainable Tourism Planning and Consultation: Evidence from the Project INTER.ECO.TUR

Expansion of territories targeted by travellers and growth of attendance rates make tourism sector of significant interest for the implementation of policies on environmental protection at the European Union (EU) level. The need to protect local natural heritage, to integrate tourism industry development policies with the ones pertaining to other sectors that characterize a given territory and to enhance the overall environmental performance are some of the priorities that may appear conflicting at times. This paper discusses a method of analysis and planning aiming to promote potential directives of local governance. This method, representing the outcome of a process coordinated and shared across territories, is oriented towards the sustainable development of the area and refers to the implementation of integrated policies, The Interreg Eco Tourism (INTER.ECO.TUR) project, co-financed by the European Commission under the EU's INTERREG IIIC, provided the research with a useful case study to analyse the dynamics of sustainable tourism development within the European Mediterranean area. The debate of its results offers evidences on the possibility to develop such a governance process effectively, providing insight into an assessment methodology enriched by a clear-cut analysis of its applied experiences.     

“Wachstum” oder “Revolution”? Ernst Cassirer und die Wissenschaftsgeschichte

“Growth” or “Revolution”? Ernst Cassirer and History of Science. Ernst Cassirer's contributions to history of science have been long time neglected. The aim of this paper is to show the historical and philosophical framework of Cassirer's engagement in this field, starting from his seminal work about the problem of knowledge in science and philosophy of the modern age. Moreover the author suggests that Cassirer's late studies about Galilei and the origins of mathematical science are of some interest in order to comprehend both his commitment to contemporary history of science (from Burtt to Koyré) and his intellectual heritage for our agendas in a post‐Kuhnian era.