The purpose of this study is to investigate how Covid-19 impacted overseas students’ decision to apply for an undergraduate degree at UK universities.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate how Covid-19 impacted overseas students’ decision to apply for an undergraduate degree at UK universities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study compares the number of university applications from overseas students in summer and autumn 2020 with those in the period 2011–2019. Multivariate analysis techniques are used.
Findings
The results show that the pandemic has led to a drop in university applications from foreign students by 11–14%. Such decline has been driven by a reduction in the number of applicants from high-income countries as opposed to those from middle-lower income countries. Two explanations may account for this finding. First, students from affluent countries, compared to those from poorer countries, may be more likely to find a good alternative to the UK where to carry out their studies (including their home country). Second, the option of deferring study abroad plans due to the pandemic may be more affordable for applicants from high-income countries.
Originality/value
While understanding how Covid-19 has impacted international student mobility is an emerging issue in the literature, not only are there few studies providing evidence on this, but these are based on qualitative analysis. This paper uses quantitative methods that allow to separate the effect of Covid-19 from that associated with other factors affecting the flow of international students.
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Andrea Cutillo and Giorgio Di Pietro
The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of overeducation on wages in the Italian graduate labour market.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of overeducation on wages in the Italian graduate labour market.
Design/methodology/approach
The relationship between overeducation and wages is analysed using a double selection approach. Two basic individuals' decisions are explicitly considered in the analysis: the decision to work and the choice of occupation. The first one could create a problem of sample selection bias, whereas the second one could generate an endogeneity bias.
Findings
Although in line with previous studies it was found that overeducated workers earn less than their appropriately educated peers, the results suggest also that this pay gap is significantly higher when a double selectivity approach is used than when an OLS approach is employed. The main reason why OLS techniques significantly underestimate the wage penalty associated with overeducation appears to be the bias introduced by the endogeneity of overeducation.
Originality/value
Recent studies have examined the impact of overeducation on earnings using a single selection framework. This paper extends previous work by analysing the relationship between overeducation and wages using a double selection approach. Additionally, little research has focused on overeducation in Italy.
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Eleonora Lattanzi and Nerio Naldi
This chapter provides a list and a brief description of files and documents where the name of Piero Sraffa is mentioned and are currently kept at the Archivio Centrale dello Stato…
Abstract
This chapter provides a list and a brief description of files and documents where the name of Piero Sraffa is mentioned and are currently kept at the Archivio Centrale dello Stato and at the Archivio Storico Diplomatico. For each file or document we provide indication of the reference number where it is conserved and a transcription of one or two of the relevant documents out of more than 500 which have been located. The purpose of the chapter is to illustrate the results of archival research of the last decade, including more recent findings, and furnish a groundwork for further research, which may throw further light on documents already known to us, and lead to the discovery of new documents or information, so as to provide a better basis for the reconstruction of the biography of Piero Sraffa and of people whose lives entwined with his – Antonio Gramsci certainly ranking high among them.
Riccardo Bellofiore and Scott Carter
Resurgent interest in the life and work of the Italian Cambridge economist Piero Sraffa is leading to New Directions in Sraffa Scholarship. This chapter introduces readers to some…
Abstract
Resurgent interest in the life and work of the Italian Cambridge economist Piero Sraffa is leading to New Directions in Sraffa Scholarship. This chapter introduces readers to some of these developments. First and perhaps foremost is the fact that as of September 2016 Sraffa’s archival material has been uploaded onto the website of the Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge University, as digital colour images; this chapter introduces readers to the history of these events. This history provides sharp relief on the extant debates over the role of the archival material in leading to the final publication of Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, and readers are provided a brief sketch of these matters. The varied nature of Sraffa scholarship is demonstrated by the different aspects of Sraffa’s intellectual legacy which are developed and discussed in the various entries of our Symposium. The conclusion is reached that we are on the cusp of an exciting phase change of tremendous potential in Sraffa scholarship.
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Gianfranco Ignone, Giorgio Mossa, Giovanni Mummolo, Rosa Pilolli and Luigi Ranieri
The aim of this paper is to support public decision‐makers in a local healthcare agency (LHA) in evaluating the effects of different de‐hospitalization strategies and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to support public decision‐makers in a local healthcare agency (LHA) in evaluating the effects of different de‐hospitalization strategies and the potential for outsourcing clinical services.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach adopted is based on the “patient pathway” perspective. Starting from the identification of specific care pathways, all the feasible care paths in a given LHA in Italy are investigated in order to evaluate the practicability of the de‐hospitalization of some phases with a particular focus on co‐ordination of hospitals and territorial services. A heuristic approach based on discrete‐event simulation modelling is proposed. The methodology and the simulation model have been validated with reference to field data derived from a full‐scale case study carried out within a LHA in southern Italy.
Findings
The results show where, in terms of care pathways, de‐hospitalization is practicable, valuable in terms of better resource utilization, and eligible for outsourcing. The outsourcing option appears to be more sustainable from a social point of view. It specifies that there would be no dismissal of employees, and that there would be recruitment of specialized workers such as nurses and doctors, employed under more flexible conditions. Savings in overheads would be achieved by means of patient de‐hospitalization.
Originality/value
The existing scientific literature, to the best of the authors' knowledge, deals with patient flow management at the hospital level. However, in the European countries, the public healthcare system is generally organized in terms of the territorially based allocation of service centres. Given the scarcity of public resources, the main difficulty seems to be a mismatch among actions needed to improve territorial and residential care for outsourcing, and the interventions needed to contain hospital costs.
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Pietro Fera, Michele Pizzo, Rosa Vinciguerra and Giorgio Ricciardi
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the quality of internal corporate governance mechanisms and the audit issues disclosed by external auditors in their…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the quality of internal corporate governance mechanisms and the audit issues disclosed by external auditors in their report, assuming the beneficial effect related to the adoption of a sustainable corporate governance system.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper investigates the impact of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s ISA 701 in the European context as a new auditing principle supporting the key audit matters (KAMs) in reporting and disclosing auditing activities. The analysis is carried out through a quantitative methodology using a sample composed of non-financial companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange.
Findings
Empirical findings highlight that firms having a high quality and sustainable corporate governance system tend to have fewer KAMs arising from the audit process and then disclosed in the audit report. To ensure the reliability of the empirical analysis, the authors controlled for a set of variables that could affect the audit function and for the mediating role of the overall business complexity (as proxied by the firm size).
Originality/value
This study is of interest to academics, practitioners and regulators, as it highlights the role of a higher quality internal corporate governance on the perceived corporate riskiness and complexity. It contributes to the recent debate on sustainable corporate governance, corporate sustainability and auditing streams.
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Pietro Fera, Nicola Moscariello, Michele Pizzo and Giorgio Ricciardi
Although the previous literature considers independent directors as an internal mechanism for good corporate governance and higher financial disclosure quality, in contexts…
Abstract
Purpose
Although the previous literature considers independent directors as an internal mechanism for good corporate governance and higher financial disclosure quality, in contexts characterized by high ownership concentration, they may lack the mandate, the incentives and the ability to be an effective monitoring mechanism. Therefore, this study aims to focus on minority directors and investigate their impact on the earnings management activities for firms with concentrated ownership structures.
Design/methodology/approach
As the slate voting system is a peculiar feature of Italian corporate governance regulations, which gives minority shareholders the right to appoint at least one member of the board of directors (minority directors), this paper carries out a quantitative empirical analysis based on a sample of non-financial companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange to test the role played by minority directors in increasing incentives towards higher financial reporting quality.
Findings
Robust to different model specifications, including the endogeneity test, empirical findings show a negative relationship between minority directors and earnings management, while no relationship holds between the latter and independent directors, suggesting that minority directors might promote greater directors’ accountability than independent directors in highly concentrated ownership structures.
Originality/value
Relying on the empirical findings, this paper offers new insights on a peculiar internal corporate governance mechanism related to one of the most debated issues among financial market practitioners and regulators, namely, the protection of minority shareholders. Moreover, this paper offers new insights for academics and practitioners on a peculiar governance mechanism that could soon be widely adopted.
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Michela Magliacani and Roberto Di Pietra
Accounting can affect and determine power relations. Previous studies have emphasized how accounting has been used by “central” powers; less is known from the perspective of…
Abstract
Purpose
Accounting can affect and determine power relations. Previous studies have emphasized how accounting has been used by “central” powers; less is known from the perspective of “local” power and its capacity to resist and protect its interests. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the Archbishop’s Seminary of Siena (ASS) (local) and Roman ecclesiastic institutions (central). This study contributes to filling the existing gap in the literature regarding how accounting could be used as a tool for deception in local/central power relations.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology is based on a case study and archival research. The ASS case study was analyzed through its archive, made up for the most part of accounting books. As to the approach adopted, the authors used the Foucault framework to observe power relations in order to identify possible ways in which accounting can be employed as a factor of deception.
Findings
Power relations between the ASS and Roman ecclesiastic institutions were maintained through a system of reporting that limited the influence of the ecclesiastical power of Rome over the Seminary’s administration and control. The relationship thus runs contrary to the findings in previous studies. The accounting system was managed as a factor of deception in favor of local interests and the limitation of central ecclesiastic power.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to enhancing the existing literature on governmentality, proposing a different perspective in which power relations are based on the use of accounting. The Foucaldian approach demonstrates its validity, even though the power relations under consideration have the unusual feature of occurring within the context of religious institutions.
Originality/value
This study on the ASS has allowed the identification of two relevant points: the local/central dichotomy is consistent with the logic of power relations as theorized by Foucault, even in cases where it highlights the role of a local power in limiting the flow of information to a central one; and the ASS accounting system was used as a factor of deception.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss strategies for benchmarking patient safety using Lombardy region administrative archives. Patient safety indicators and statistical methods…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss strategies for benchmarking patient safety using Lombardy region administrative archives. Patient safety indicators and statistical methods are presented that allow risk adjustment. The analysis benchmarks regional health structures, focusing on two patient safety indicators: failure to rescue; and death in low mortality diagnostic related group.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were drawn from a research project promoted by the Italian Agency of Regional Health Services in 2002 to furnish statistical evidence regarding adverse events based on Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality indicators and methods. Hierarchical models for an equitable benchmark analyses are proposed.
Findings
Empirical analysis shows that hierarchical approaches, based on comparing health structures within homogenous specialties, disaggregates and moderates failure to rescue variabilities existing between hospitals, especially in oncology, intensive care and general medicine.
Research limitations/implications
The paper proposes using hierarchical models for properly benchmarking health structures, resolving logistic regression drawbacks and limitations.
Practical implications
The paper strengthens the theory that accurate coding supported by software and administrative databases could provide a valuable and economical source for patient safety research.
Originality/value
The paper analyses and suggests strategies for consistent benchmark analyses based on patient safety outcomes, applicable to several situations and different health structure typologies.
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Pietro Giorgio Lovaglio and Giorgio Vittadini
The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical conceptualization of the balanced scorecard (BSC) to describe the mechanism producing creation of monetary value for hospitals…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical conceptualization of the balanced scorecard (BSC) to describe the mechanism producing creation of monetary value for hospitals in the territorial context of Lombardy region (Italy).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a model‐building strategy that assigns key indicators to key performance areas, and identifies causal relationships between key performance areas. Second, the authors utilize a suitable statistical approach to estimate causal relationships among involved latent variables, taking into account the hierarchical structure of data. Utilizing a suitable data decomposition, the causal model is applied separately to the within data (hospitals) and to the between data (local health agencies).
Findings
In the measurement model a new latent construct (medical human capital) was found that resumes the amount of formal training and the performance of surgical staff in hospitals. The estimated causal models reflect the usual directional assumptions, supposed in a typical BSC causal scheme, with some differences. For local health agencies, fruits (financial measures) are strongly related to clinical processes (leaves) for which the medical human capital constitutes its unique trunk. However, for hospitals, fruits (financial measures) are directly linked to clinical processes and Patient Satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations of this study are the lack of new independent data to validate the obtained causal structures and the limited number of indicators that reflect the deficiency of available information in regional administrative archives.
Originality/value
The present study may be useful to guide further efforts which attempt to conceptualize BSC in the health sector. As more information can be made available, other performance indicators can prove to be linked with this structure using the same methodology.