Edgardo Sica

Università degli studi di Foggia | UNIFG · Department of Economics Management and Territory (DEMeT)

This paper investigates the effects of migration on the export and production techniques of agri-industrial firms in the proximity of clusters of migrants. The analysis draws on an original dataset built through interviews conducted with agri-food firms in the Foggia province (southern Italy). Over the past two decades, this area has experienced a...

This paper explores the link between globalization and internal mobility in Vietnam. We find that Vietnam’s internationalization processes have an asymmetric economic impact on the provinces. Using data on inter-provincial migration flows, we show that this asymmetry is also detectable in terms of differences in the levels of provincial attraction...

A sustainable transition towards a net zero emission economy is a primary goal of climate change mitigation. Such a transition should involve each socio-technical system, including the transport system. Adopting a multi-level perspective, the present study explores the behaviour of actors within the road passenger transport sector by investigating...

The socio-economic consequences of the Xylella fastidiosa epidemic represent a global problem that can only be addressed through tailored, local solutions. The selection of public interventions is not a trivial task for policy makers, as they must weigh many different interests (e.g., private profit, ecosystem services, usability, preservation and...

The transition literature (especially within economic geography, urban studies and political ecology) highlights that the proximity between actors plays a crucial role in determining the dynamics of sustainable transitions. Economic geographers distinguish between absolute (spatial) and relative (non-spatial) proximity. These play different roles i...

This paper uses learning methods and optimization techniques to investigate the determinants of shock propagation in the Euro area for the period 2001-2015. First, principal component analyses are used with country bond yields to identify sub-periods and country groups; second, influencing factors for country bond yields are investigated with rando...

Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, tourist destinations have been increasingly selected on the basis of health, safety and social distancing criteria. In this framework, protected natural areas represent ideal tourist destinations due to the presence of wide and open spaces, services for tourists and attention to nature. The present paper focused...

This paper investigates two transition initiatives at the local level-namely the reconversion of the Porto Marghera and Gela refineries into biorefineries for second-generation biofuels. The study aimed at assessing the extent to which the narrative pressures exerted by local actors influenced the perspectives of key stakeholders involved in these...

Over the last decades, the agri-food sector has been involved in a substantial process of internationalisation. For many agri-food firms, internationalisation has become a significant element of competitiveness and an essential condition for their survival and success in spite of the possible initial difficulties in competing and organising activit...

An emerging segment of tourism demand is represented by accessible tourism, i.e. tourism activated in public spaces in the absence of any kind of barrier (architectural, cultural, sensorial, attitudinal, communicational and informational barriers) and, from a business competitiveness point of view, accessibility represents the precondition of any s...

Responsible tourism provides a particular lens by which to consider how to improve the sustainability of tourism with the ambition to enhance the positive impacts of mainstream tourism, while reducing the negative ones. In this view, facilitating travel for people with disabilities represents an exceptional opportunity, and the idea that what is ac...

Although regulations designed to meet the necessities of tourists with disabilities are allowing disables to travel more, they are still encountering barriers and discriminatory practices. A relevant obstacle in making the tourist policy effective is represented by the lack of information and communication about needs and expectations of disabled c...

The importance of improving accessibility to tourism services and understanding the needs of disabled people is nowadays largely recognized in the literature. In this framework, the present paper tests the suitability of a participatory approach involving stakeholders in the definition of a trademark specification for dealing with a complex issue s...

The contribution of universities to the sustainability challenge is nowadays crucial due to their role as centers of learning, innovation and research. However, universities can deal with sustainability matters in many different ways which should be accurately identified in their strategies. In this context, the present paper has tested the suitabi...

Policy interventions to promote innovative industries in peripheral regions are often hampered by lack of information on the functioning of the local socio-economic systems, due to their complexity. This might result in mismatches between policy objectives and the actual needs and capability of local communities. To overcome this drawback, it is cr...

Trade liberalization and globalization processes are resulting in an increased spatial integration of agricultural commodity markets. According to the Heckscher-Ohlin model, land-abundant countries like Ukraine should export land-intensive goods. Therefore, the international integration of commodity markets should lead to the integration of factor...

The present paper illustrates a methodological strategy to address the first phases of the policy cycle-namely agenda setting, impact analysis, and policy formulation-with the aim of fostering the development of an innovation niche. Through a combination of fuzzy cognitive maps and social network analysis, our methodology allows firstly assessing t...

Intermediaries and financial markets are increasingly paying attention towards a more environmentally sustainable economy. The sustainability of related actions go beyond the mere provision of monetary resources. This article investigates the opportunities and challenges of green finance (GF), in order to understand which policies may foster the in...

This study investigates the financial and non-financial impacts of the use of sustainability criteria in banks’ executive compensation plans. The sample covers all the globally and systemically important European banks over the period 2013–2017. Panel data-fixed effect estimations are employed to mitigate endogeneity concerns and to control for wit...

This paper aims to provide preliminary evidence about the existence of horizontal integration between the rapeseed markets in Ukraine (UA) and the European Union (EU). To this end, both a trade analysis and a price analysis were carried out. In particular, the trade analysis was performed using yearly trade flows between the UA and EU, whereas pric...

The present paper provides empirical evidence of the opportunities and challenges surrounding green finance (GF), looking at the financial issues that might prevent the investment decisions of green companies. To this end, we explore the case of Italian biomass producers by means of a discourse analysis supported by a survey administered to a pool...

This paper investigates the determinants of sovereign bond yields in the case of ten Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) countries (five core economies and five peripheral countries) for the period of 2001-2015. To this end, we carry out a two-step methodology based on (i) a principal component analysis of the countries’ yields, which is aimed at spl...

This paper investigates the determinants of sovereign bond yields in the case of ten Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) countries (five core economies and five peripheral countries) for the period of 2001-2015. To this end, we carry out a two-step methodology based on (i) a principal component analysis of the countries' yields, which is aimed at spl...

This paper aims to design the effective instrument mixes for fostering a sustainable energy transition in times of crises. We focus on a sufficiently developed green niche – namely the Italian biofuel sector – implementing a two-step investigation: 1) a social network analysis, to study the effects of the crisis on the basic niche development mecha...

In this paper, we present an empirical analysis in order to identify and recommend the most effective policy combinations to steer a sustainable energy transition under alternative crisis scenarios (i.e. crisis worsening vs. crisis reduction). Specifically, focussing on a green energy niche - namely the Italian biofuel sector - we perform a fuzzy i...

By examining the use of language and depicting the emerging storylines surrounding the green finance (GF) niche, this study aims to identify actors pushing the Italian financial sector to become increasingly greener. Then, it scrutinizes the narratives used by landscape actors to assess the channels through which such pressure is exerted, as well a...

The valorisation of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) represents a relevant matter for local governments that may result in significant economic and environmental benefits. In particular, defining the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly OFMSW management strategy should be based upon the active involvement of local s...

This paper tests the causality relationship existing between electrical power consumption and economic growth in Turkey and Italy by employing a Frequency Domain Causality approach over the period of 1961-2012. The two countries represent a very interesting case-study, since Turkey is an important bridge and outlet for transporting oil and natural...

Following a multi-level perspective (MLP), a sustainability transition is the consequence of destabilization pressures from the landscape level that are exerted towards the current unsustainable regime contributing thus to the emergence of niche-level eco-innovations (EI). However, the existence of financial barriers to eco-innovative companies may...

The present paper contributes to the debate on eco-innovations (EIs) by comparing their role within the framework of two contrasting theoretical perspectives: the neoclassical vs. the evolutionary viewpoint. In the neoclassical approach, EIs play a crucial role in achieving the goal of environmental sustainability mainly through their contribution...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Multinational enterprises (MNEs) can augment the productivity of domestic firms insofar as knowledge “spills over” from foreign investors to local producers. The capacity of local companies to exploit knowledge from MNEs can be affected by the technology gap between foreign and local enterprises at both horizont...

In recent years biomass production for energy purposes has gathered increasing attention as a feasible alternative to traditional energy sources. Biomass represents the biggest renewable energy source in the EU and is expected to contribute significantly to achieving the 20% EU renewable energy target by 2020 by reducing the dependence on fuel from...

The crisis in the US mortgage market that started on the last quarter of 2007 has produced a long term crisis in the EU real economy, resulting in the bankrupt of many companies and banks, high levels of unemployment and public debt, and a general decline in GDP. In this framework, many EU countries have adopted a number of protective measures agai...

Following a multi-level perspective, a sustainability transition occurs only when destabilization pressures from the landscape level are exerted towards the current (unsustainable) regime, creating thus windows of opportunity for radical eco-innovations at niche level to emerge. However, the existence of financial constraints to eco-innovating comp...

Innovation represents a multidimensional process which originates within companies from a combination of internal and external factors. In this framework, internationalisation represents a significant source of external knowledge for enterprises since it can raise competition among companies, increase the scale of production, and create opportuniti...

The present paper investigates the impact of the current economic crisis on the process of sustainability transitions by exploring the case of a green niche, namely the biofuel sector. From a methodological point of view, we employ a social network analysis aimed at comparing the Italian biofuel niche in two different time periods, specifically bef...

By focusing on a sufficiently developed green niche, namely the biofuel industry, we investigate whether the ongoing worldwide economic crisis is contributing towards a more sustainable regime. To do this, we adopt a social network strategy based on a comparison between the current status quo of the Italian biofuel industry to that before the crisi...

The present work tests the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis (EKC) in Italy for three air pollutants, namely CO2, NOx and SOx, using an emissions data-set disaggregated at the provincial level. An empirical investigation, conducted through both a panel data and a cross-section approach, suggests the existence of the EKC at the national level f...

The present paper investigates the impact of financial constraints on the Italian biomass production by adopting a multi-level perspective approach. In particular, it explores to what extent (i) financial constraints at regime level and (ii) internal barriers at niche level hinder the biomass niche to enter the current fossil fuel based regime. Res...

The present article provides preliminary results about the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the Italian case for some less investigated air contaminants, such as benzene, sulphur hexafluoride and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). By using an emission data set disaggregated at the provincial level, it investigates whether the EKC is influenc...

The present paper aims to test the impact of incoming Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on local wages in the Italian manufacturing sector by using firm level data from 2002 to 2007. Results initially show the lack of wage spillovers at both horizontal and vertical level, meaning that the effects of foreign investment are completely internalized with...

Objectives This paper aimed to verify the presence of FDI-related spillovers from MNEs in the Italian manufacturing sector both at an intra-industry and at an inter-industry level, by taking into account different dimensions of the Italian productive system. In particular, it analyzed the absorptive capacity of Italian firms on the basis of (i) t...

The absorptive capacity represents the ability of enterprises to efficiently absorb and internalise knowledge from outside: it represents the link between firms’ capabilities to implement new products and the external stock of technological opportunities, such as those spilled-out from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). In this framework, the presen...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of international activities on knowledge output. For this purpose, we employ a dataset containing exclusively qualitative information about a sample of small and medium Italian manufacturing firms. In the econometric analysis, a probit model is used. The results of the estimations highlight that firms...

In recent years, millions of poor people worldwide have benefited from microfinance activities, such as microcredit, microsaving and microinsurance, making this range of financial services a key-tool for economic growth of many developing countries. At the same time, the concept of Sustainable Development (SD) has taken on an increasing importance...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) can generate positive externalities to host countries, increasing domestic firms' productivity. Recently, the attention of researchers has moved from the analysis of ''horizontal'' spillovers – i.e. those benefits to local enterprises at an intra-industrial level - towards the in...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) can be beneficial to host countries, since it may generate positive externalities to domestic firms, contributing to the increase of their productivity. These positive effects can take place both within an industry ("horizontal” spillovers) and across industries ("vertical” spill...

The causal relationship between economic growth and energy consumption represents a widely studied topic in energy economics literature. Although it is very well known that there is a strong correlation between energy use and growth, the issue of causality still remains to be answered. This study aims to investigate the possibility of the energydem...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) can be beneficial to host countries, since it may generate positive externalities to domestic firms, contributing to the increase of their productivity. These positive effects can take place both within an industry ("horizontal” spillovers) and across industries ("vertical” spill...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) can be beneficial to host countries, since it may generate positive externalities to domestic firms, contributing to the increase of their productivity. These positive effects can take place both within an industry ("horizontal" spillovers) and across industries ("vertical" spill...

Today tourism represents one of the most dynamic economic sectors of the world. Although majority of international tourism takes place within the developed world, recently tourism has increased significantly in the developing countries, mainly in the Southeast Asian and Pacific countries. This study aims to verify if tourism represents a determinan...

The purpose of this study consists in verifying if climatic differences can help to explain the different economic growths path across Italian provinces. Focusing on literature on economic convergence on one hand, and that on economics of climate on the other, the work depicts how climatic variables can enter into the traditional Solows neoclassica...

This paper calculates indices of central bank autonomy (CBA) for 163 central banks as of end-2003, and comparable indices for a subgroup of 68 central banks as of the end of the 1980s. The results confirm strong improvements in both economic and political CBA over the past couple of decades, although more progress is needed to boost political auton...

Tourism is one of the most dynamic sectors of the world economy. It is highly labour intensive, offers many employment and business opportunities and contributes to the growth of local economies. In this light, it is also seen as an important factor of economic convergence for those countries characterized by socioeconomic inequalities. For this re...