This paper estimates Sutton's lower bound [1991, 1998] by quantile regression, and thus shows the in£uence of outliers on previous estimates that used the simplex method. The lower bound estimates are obtained separately for exogenous and endogenous sunk cost industries in Italian manufacturing sectors in 1995, using microdata from the SCI'95 (Firms Accounts System) survey conducted by ISTAT (National Institute of Statistics, Italy). The results suggest that Sutton's predictions are robust.

SUMMARY We study entry into pharmaceutical submarkets by using a dynamic panel probit model. We develop a Bayesian version of Wooldridge's approach to dealing with unobserved heterogeneity. We distinguish between greenfield entry (entry with first product) and undifferentiated entry, which may take the form of introducing further products. We extend the standard reduced form model to consider company size in the submarket and across all submarkets. We find that greenfield and undifferentiated entries have different determinants, that global and submarket size measures have different effects and that sunk costs often have positive effects on entry due to a commitment mechanism. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper analyzes the gender wage gaps across the wage distribution in both the private and public sectors in Italy for the years 2005 − 2010. We use quantile regression methods to estimate and decompose the gender wage gap at different points of the wage distribution. We find in both sectors a consistent level of gender wage gap (lower in the public sector) and an increasing path along the wage distribution. Counterfactual decomposition analysis supports the idea of a sticky floor mechanism in action in the private sector and of a glass ceiling in the public sector. In addition to standard decomposition techniques we propose a two step procedure that relies on a novel approach to estimating fixed effects quantile regressions. Its main advantage is that it allows the estimation of the marginal effect of the employment sector on wages at different points of the distribution, while accounting for both observable and time-invariant unobservable factors. When we control for employees' observed and unobservable individual characteristics, the main finding is that the gender wage gap substantially decreases in both sectors. A second evidence is that the sticky floor effect in the private sector vanishes, while the glass ceiling effect in the public sector remains.

Bank, Scale economies, Scope economies, G10, G14, G20, G21,