PurposeThe article presents an empirical analysis that evaluates the effects of a systemic corruption scandal on the demand in the short and the long run. In 2006, the Calciopoli scandal uncovered the match rigging in the Italian soccer first division. The exemplary sportive sanction of relegating the primary culprit to the second division imposed further negative externalities on the other clubs. Should we prefer the sportive sanction on the team or the monetary fines for the club?Design/methodology/approachWe estimated two log-linear models of the demand side (stadium attendance) using a fixed effect estimator, on two panel data set made of all the Italian soccer clubs in the first and second division (Serie A and Serie B) for the seasons 2004/2005 to 2009/2010, considering the relegation of the Juventus as the event which impacted the demand for soccer.FindingsRelegating Juventus to Serie B caused an immediate decrease of 18.4% in the attendance for all the teams, both in Serie A and in Serie B, for the three seasons considered, and 1% decrease when all the seasons are considered to measure the fallout of the scandal on the fans' disaffection.Originality/valueThe effect of corruption in sport on demand is an important issue, and there are few studies already published. As for sports economics and management, our results are of interest for sport-governing bodies – as a case study that can help in designing a more effective sanctioning system to prevent corruption episodes.
Italy will phase electricity retail price regulation by July 1st, 2020. This is the last step in the process of electricity market liberalization, that started in 1999. Until then, residential customers and small businesses who do not choose their supplier, will be supplied under a transitional, regulated service named "maggior tutela" (greater protection), which is supplied by the local distributor at a price set by the regulator. This paper reviews the literature on electricity retail competitionwith particular regard to its expected effects on prices, innovation and customer engagementand the condition under which its benefits may be delivered. Then a Structure-Conduct-Performance analysis of Italy's retail electricity market for residential customers is performed. Two issues are found to be potentially problematic: excessive market concentration and low customer engagement. Energy poverty is also identified as an issue to be addressed. A phase-out mechanism is finally proposed, that relies on graduality, asymmetric regulation and a mandatory, opt-out collective switching exercise. The mechanism aims to rapidly reducing market concentration by leveraging on behavioral incentives to customers still under regulated prices to switch to the cheapest supplier.
Since the 1990s, the European Union has committed to gaining global leadership in clean energies such as solar photovoltaic and wind power. The joint amount of wind and solar capacity grew from 12.5 GW (or 2% of total installed electricity capacity) in 2000 to 261.2 GW in 2018 (or 28.1% of total installed electricity capacity). This came at a cost: In 2018 alone, the European Union (excluding the United Kingdom) spent €73 billion to subsidize green energy production. These financial aids were paid for by European energy consumers, mainly through levies charged on top of their power bills. According to proponents, these subsidies were needed to achieve sustainability while promoting the emergence of the European renewable industry. This chapter focuses on the European venture into renewable energies to answer the following three questions: (1) Was the subsidization of green electricity sources an effective environmental policy? (2) Was it an effective industrial policy? (3) Was it an effective social policy? The answer is: no, no, no.
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