Stefano Lucarelli | Università degli Studi di Bergamo (University of Bergamo) (original) (raw)

Papers by Stefano Lucarelli

Economies, 2024

One of the factors that characterize the different countries of the Balkan area is the level of c... more One of the factors that characterize the different countries of the Balkan area is the level of corruption which, as often stressed by scholars, may significantly influence the economic growth of its countries. However, there is still no agreement on the sign of this effect: there are theoretical arguments and empirical results in favor of a positive correlation between corruption and growth, and there are also theoretical arguments and empirical results that support the opposite view. Comparing the short-term and long-term impacts can help to explain this contradiction. In this perspective, we propose an auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology. This approach gives both short-run and long-run results simultaneously and it is robust with small samples. The results are not homogeneous for the eight countries covered by our study (Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey), but the following theoretical intuition is confirmed: although corruption could be seen as a factor that helps economic growth by speeding up the bureaucratic processing in the short run, conversely, in the long run, the social costs associated with corruption are considerable, making it difficult to sustain the political, economic, and social burdens, thus leading to a higher levels of corruption that negatively affect the economic growth. These results confirm certain aspects of Albert Hirschman’s ideas regarding private interests and public action.

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PSL Quarterly Review

This paper tries to highlight some essential elements that emerge from Luigi Pasinetti's work. Mu... more This paper tries to highlight some essential elements that emerge from Luigi Pasinetti's work. Much of the research project that Pasinetti developed, especially in the 1981 book, was already present in nuce in the 1974 collection of essays. Here the theory of effective demand is presented for the first time, emphasizing the essential differences between sequential and simultaneous economic reasoning. The relevance of structural change is already apparent, and will be explored in a multisectoral scheme only in the 1981 book. The main insights that can be drawn from Pasinetti's reflections on open economic systems and his ethical stance suggest that ownership of the means of production not only confers rights but it also imposes responsibilities on the community.

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Moneta e Credito, 2018

We investigate the rule that the P2, the well-known Italian clandestine masonic lodge, had in the... more We investigate the rule that the P2, the well-known Italian clandestine masonic lodge, had in the economic developments in the country. Considering all firms listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, we analyse the interlocking directorates between the banks and firms infiltrated and not infiltrated by the P2. Our results show that in the 1980-1981 period firms infiltrated by the P2 accounted for the most part of the connections and exhibited higher network centrality. Since 1982 there is a general scaling-down of these firms: an event consistent with negative impact of the public discovery of the P2 lodge during 1981.

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Moneta e Credito, 2018

The study of criminal behaviour from the point of view of economics is mostly brought back to the... more The study of criminal behaviour from the point of view of economics is mostly brought back to the canon of rationality. In this introduction to the special issue on crime and economy, we explain why it can be appropriate to move away from the extremely widespread vision that leads criminal actions to the microeconomic approach and, in particular, to the logic of business choices, to assume the point of view of those who choose to study crime as a governance structure. In particular, it is important to recognise that the activities of criminal organisations which have the main economic and political repercussions always take on an international dimension. This is an extremely important issue for economic policy in Europe.

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The diffusion of alternative financial and credit circuits, in which the money favours the self-m... more The diffusion of alternative financial and credit circuits, in which the money favours the self-management of social wealth, may curb the expropriation caused by processes of abnormal indebtedness that increasingly characterise economic systems. The article proposes an examination of four experiences with complementary currencies that have sprung up in Europe after the recent crisis, distinguishing between local currencies (Sardex, SoNantes and Sol Violette) and crypto coins (Bitcoin). The possibility of taking advantage of the monetary know-how that animates various experiences (like crypto coins and local clearing houses) would contribute to the rethinking money as a social institution. Three main topics are discussed: 1. the " political technologies " in which the alternative monetary circuits consist; 2. democratic participation in the decision-making processes that characterise them; and 3. the meaning of the sovereignties that they potentially define.

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The aim of the paper is to analyse the features of the digital labour connected with the so-calle... more The aim of the paper is to analyse the features of the digital labour connected with the so-called platform economy. Many platform-based business models rely on a new composition of capital capable of capturing personal information and transforming it into big data. Starting with the example of the Facebook business model, we explain the valorisation process at the core of platform capitalism, stressing the relevance of digital labour, to clarify the crucial distinction between labour and work. Our analysis differs from Fuchs and Sevignani's thesis about digital work and digital labour and seems consistent with the idea that Facebook extracts a rent from the information produced by the free labour of its users.

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DECODE – DEcentralised Citizens Owned Data Ecosystem – aims to develop practical tools to protect... more DECODE – DEcentralised Citizens Owned Data Ecosystem – aims to develop practical tools to protect people’s data and digital sovereignty. The project is building towards a data-centric digital economy where citizen data, generated by the Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor networks, is available for broader communal use, with appropriate privacy protections. As a result, companies, cooperatives, local communities and citizens will be able to use that data to build data- driven services that better respond to individual and community needs. This means rethinking the thorny questions around the ownership, control and management of personal data from an economic, legal, regulatory and technical dimension1. The DECODE deliverable “Economic and regulatory analysis of data platforms and value creation models of the on demand economy” presents two main aims: (i) Proposing an analysis of regulatory models for data platforms; (ii) Clarifying the logic of value creation that characterises the so-called on-demand economy, by analysing four case studies of dominant platforms. Both the objectives are necessary to develop T2.2 (“Data-driven disruptive and commons based economic models”) within the WP2 (“Decentralised Governance and Economic framework: Commons data platforms for digital sovereignty”). This deliverable analyses the dominant data-driven economic models, and clarifies the boundaries between the major data driven platforms and the so called on-demand platform economy, then it defines the different areas affected by currently existing regulatory models. This analytical work is essential to be able to by propose in our future work economic, regulatory, and technical alternatives to the dominant, centralised and monopolistic economic models of data-driven platforms, which exploit network effects and capture rent from network externalities, thus hindering innovation and eroding citizens’ digital sovereignty (D 2.4). This will contribute to the overall objective of DECODE to identify and experiment new political, economic, and legal regimes that recognize social and communal rights to data.

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Various examples of complementary currencies have recently emerged in Europe in response to the i... more Various examples of complementary currencies have recently emerged in Europe in response to the impact of the 2007 financial crisis. They have been variously labelled as social, local and alternative money but their economic meaning has still to be discussed. On the one hand, they have been hailed as innovative tools for socio-territorial policies with a focus on localist, anti-globalist and anti-capitalist values. On the other, the emphasis on the value of currencies as instruments of alternative territorial development runs the risk of overshadowing issues concerning the specific features of such projects. The first part of this paper puts forward an interpretation of the current situation as a crisis of the liquidity principle and suggests that the principle of clearing instead represents the primary point of reference for any institutional arrangement aimed at restoring a balanced relationship between lenders and borrowers.

A critical review of known European complementary monetary circuits is followed by examination of the Sardex clearing system. The paper then goes on to argue by means of a stock-flow consistent model that complementary monetary circuits can serve to stabilise local economic systems. In particular, a local clearing union for local exchanges has the effect of stabilising the profits of firms while attenuating the impact of the credit crunch at same time.

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Investment Management Financial Innovations, 2011

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Economies, 2024

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PSL Quarterly Review

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Moneta e Credito, 2018

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Moneta e Credito, 2018

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Investment Management Financial Innovations, 2011

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Squilibrio Il labirinto della crescita e dello sviluppo capitalistico prefazione di Paolo Leon Le... more Squilibrio Il labirinto della crescita e dello sviluppo capitalistico prefazione di Paolo Leon Le ragioni dello squilibrio sono essenzialmente nell'incapacità delle imprese e delle famiglie di conoscere gli effetti macroeco-nomici delle loro azioni. Naturalmente, sono le decisioni di im-presa che muovono l'economia, ma non è chiaro come tali decisioni siano prese, e quanto influenzino e siano influenzate dall'andamento dell'economia nel suo complesso. Così, se è indubbio che l'economia è trainata dalle decisioni impren-ditoriali, tuttavia sono gli effetti non conosciuti di queste decisioni che alterano continuamente la struttura. Una delle ragioni dell'intervento pubblico sta proprio nell'ignoranza dei decisori. Molto rilievo, in questo libro, è dato al progresso tecnico, specialmente nella sua forma di nuove tecniche «superiori»-ovvero quelle che costa-no di meno e producono di più rispetto a quelle esistenti, quali che sia-no i rapporti tra i prezzi dei fattori della produzione [...]. Un avanza-mento introdotto nel libro è nella qualificazione del progresso tecnico come elemento della domanda effettiva, proprio per gli effetti macroe-conomici dell'applicazione delle nuove tecniche. Nello squilibrio, tutta-via, gli imprenditori non sanno se le tecniche scelte siano effettivamente superiori per l'economia nel suo complesso, e così si possono facilmente presentare grandi fallimenti, distorsioni nei prezzi e nei costi, sprechi ge-neralizzati, situazioni che giustificano l'intervento pubblico. Gli autori guardano al progresso tecnico anche per illustrare la poca fondatezza delle politiche europee, che apparentemente incoraggiano l'innovazione, ma chiudono nella prigione del «consolidamento fisca-le» l'unico soggetto, lo Stato, capace di mettere in moto l'innovazione.

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I saggi che compongono questo libro traggono spunto in particolare dalla domanda seguente: quali ... more I saggi che compongono questo libro traggono spunto in particolare dalla domanda seguente: quali forme assumerà nel prossimo futuro l’interazione tra i territori produttivi e lo scenario di governance continentale che di fatto li racchiude? Senza assumere una prospettiva analitica basata sul breve termine ed immediatamente applicabile in termini di politiche pubbliche, gli autori cercano di costruire un dialogo fra approcci scientifici diversi che spaziano dall’economia politica alla sociologia dell’ambiente, dalla geografia economica alla filosofia morale. L’Europa dei territori, infatti, non è che l’esito – sempre reversibile e comunque percorso da conflitti di varia natura ed intensità– di complessi processi socio-economici che devono ancora essere compresi a fondo.
Pensare le traiettorie di sviluppo future dei territori europei, e le eventuali forme di mediazione e collaborazione che li caratterizzeranno, richiede non solo la presa d’atto delle trasformazioni epocali che hanno investito il lavoro, il welfare ed il territorio, ma anche uno sforzo collettivo che sappia immaginare ed agire un modello di sviluppo altro, radicato nei principi di giustizia sociale ed ambientale. Se, parafrasando un lungimirante Pasolini, gli italiani sono diventati consumisti in seguito ad una nefasta “rivoluzione
antropologica”, allora bisognerà trovare il coraggio e la forza di invertire e rilanciare quel processo, stavolta in direzione di una sostenibilità concreta, diffusa e solidale; così che l’ambito economico sia funzionale ad un abitare autenticamente umano.

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There is not just one economic theory but a number of competing theories. The dominant theory is ... more There is not just one economic theory but a number of competing theories. The dominant theory is the neoclassical theory. This theory describes the economic system as a self-regulating system, with a unique and stable equilibrium characterised by full employment, the absence of crisis and uncertainty, and with an objective and fair distribution of income. To cope with the evidence to the contrary, the neoclassical theory built up a highly sophisticated protective belt of auxiliary hypotheses. There is, however, no change in the economic policy recipe: laissez faire!

Even before the neoclassical theory came into being, Ricardo and Marx showed that the economic or rather capitalist system is instead characterised by distributive conflict and that crises are the norm within it. Moreover, the critiques developed by Keynes and Sraffa during the twentieth century have shown that the world we live in is fraught with uncertainty, that the neoclassical theory is vitiated by irreparable logical flaws, and that if economic theory is to arrive at relevant conclusions, the importance of the political and ideological dimension – of history – must be recognised.

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During socio-economic crises, economic theories should be critically discussed. Unfortunately, th... more During socio-economic crises, economic theories should be critically discussed. Unfortunately, the mainstream approach seems to reinforce its proper reductionism, by avoiding the idea that different scientific paradigms characterize economics. The dominant thought is that the economics toolkit cannot be changed without weakening the scientific methodology. Nonetheless, actual economic policies do not appear to derive from mainstream theoretical prescriptions, yet they are not coherently inspired by an alternative paradigm. The case of international monetary economics is particularly meaningful.

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"Il contributo è costruito sulla seguente ipotesi: esiste un tratto di continuità fra il governo ... more "Il contributo è costruito sulla seguente ipotesi: esiste un tratto di continuità fra il governo Letta e il governo Monti. Sono due gli aspetti su cui concentreremo la nostra attenzione:
1. l'accettazione acritica di un vincolo istituzionale derivante da un preciso equilibrio politico che caratterizza l'attuale Unione Monetaria Europea (UME). Tale vincolo assume la seguente forma: occorre correggere lo squilibrio delle finanze pubbliche tra i diversi Paesi aderenti all'UME attraverso politiche fiscali restrittive.
2. la consapevole presa di distanza (sino alla vera e propria criminalizzazione) della sperimentazione e costituzione di forme mutualistiche di erogazione e godimento di beni comuni.
Esiste tra le due esperienze di governo un approccio teorico comune alle politiche economiche?
Cercheremo innanzitutto di comprendere la natura del vincolo istituzionale che grava sulla situazione italiana a partire da un’analisi del contesto macroeconomico europeo.
Passeremo poi ad analizzare le forme politiche ed istituzionali in cui tale vincolo è stato recepito dal governo Monti, e le probabili forme in cui verrà recepito dal governo Letta."

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This paper presents a critique of the teaching of international monetary economics. Economic cris... more This paper presents a critique of the teaching of international monetary economics. Economic crises are generally thought to offer an opportunity for radical reconsideration of economic theories highlighting their contradictions. As we shall see, this has indeed happened to some extent, but only with respect to the high theory discussed in scholarly journals.
The most successful textbooks used to teach students of economics are instead still grounded on the traditional theoretical hypotheses. The primary aim of our contribution is to show that the approach to international monetary economics put forward in the textbooks can in actual fact be traced back to the theoretical framework of a mainstream aggregate general economic equilibrium in an open economic context. The dominant approach sees money as a mere tool and its influence on the economic system as therefore restricted solely to the sphere of prices. What view of money could prove useful in order to establish a balanced international monetary system?
In order to demonstrate the need to develop a non-orthodox approach to the research question, this paper seeks to provide a critical analysis of the way in which international monetary economics is usually taught.
Section 2 will present a brief overview of the concrete problems that the discipline has been faced with since the global crisis and that are not addressed in the textbooks.
Section 3 will present a simple aggregate model of general economic equilibrium in a closed economy and subsection 3.1 will show how this can be extended to an open-economy context through the introduction of purchasing power parity.
It will then be shown (3.2) how the mainstream approach seeks to account for the volatility characterising the foreign exchange market by introducing imbalances into the international system of payments, which are in any case supposed to be absorbed in the long period. Our discussion here will be confined to the way in which their arguments are developed in the major textbooks of international monetary economics, especially Krugman, Obstfeld and Melitz (2009).
Without claiming to be exhaustive, the second part will suggest some lines of research in the sphere of post-Keynesian analysis.4 Symmetrically to the first, it will open with the analysis of a closed economic system in line with the argument developed in Keynes’s work (4.1), and then go on to extend its findings to an open-economy context (4.2). As neither full employment nor balanced trade over the short or long run are assumed, this constitutes a new contribution to the postKeynesian analysis of exchange rate determination.

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