Sex and the Uni: How Assortative Matching Affects Graduate Earnings

This paper examines how assortative matching affects graduate earnings through the choice of attending university. We build up a model where individuals decide whether to attend university for increasing both their future income and the probability to marry an educated partner. The theoretical results suggest that, as assortative matching increases, the number of graduates increases and their earnings fall. The test using the British Household Panel Survey for years 1991-2006 supports the theoretical findings.

Social Background Effects on School and Job Opportunities

This paper proposes a theory on how students.social background affects their school attainment and job opportunities. We study a setup where students differ in ability and social background, and we analyse the interaction between a school and an employer. Students with disadvantaged background are penalised compared to other students: they receive less teaching and/or are less likely to be hired. A surprising result is that policy aiming to subsidise education for disadvantaged students might in fact decrease their job opportunities.

Students' Social Origins and Targeted Grade Inflation

Grade inflation or soft grading is a common feature of the educational systems of many countries. In this paper I analyse grade inflation in a setting in which students differ in social background, and the grading policy can be targeted according to student type. I consider a signalling game where firms decide whether to hire students and their salary after observing their grades and social background, a university can inflate grades, when students decide whether to attend university. A targeted grade inflation may have redistributive effects by raising the salary of students with disadvantaged social background, if their grades are less inflated than other students'.

Identification of slow relaxing spin components by pulse EPR techniques in graphene-related materials

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) is a powerful technique that is suitable to study graphene-related materials. The challenging ability requested to the spectroscopy is its capability to resolve the variety of structures, relatively similar, that are obtained in materials produced through different methods, but that also coexist inside a single sample. In general, because of the intrinsic inhomogeneity of the samples, the EPR spectra are therefore a superposition of spectra coming from different structures. We show that by pulse EPR techniques (echo-detected EPR, ESEEM and Mims ENDOR) we can identify and characterize species with slow spin relaxing properties. These species are generally called molecular states, and are likely small pieces of graphenic structures of limited dimensions, thus conveniently described by a molecular approach. We have studied commercial reduced graphene oxide and chemically exfoliated graphite, which are characterized by different EPR spectra. Hyperfine spectroscopies enabled us to characterize the molecular components of the different materials, especially in terms of the interaction of the unpaired electrons with protons (number of protons and hyperfine coupling constants). We also obtained useful precious information about extent of delocalization of the molecular states

Vertical Differentiation in a Cournot Industry: The Porter Hypothesis and Beyond

We modify the vertically differentiated duopoly model by André et al. (2009) replacing Bertrand with Cournot behaviour to show that firms may spontaneously adopt a green technology even in the complete absence of any form of regulation.

The Dynamics of Disease in a Regulated Vertically Differentiated Health System

We build up a differential game to investigate the interplay between the quality of health care and the presence of an evolving disease in a duopoly where patients are heterogeneous along the income dimension. We prove unicity, stability and perfection of the open-loop Nash solution. Moreover, we identify the admissible parameter region wherein price regulation achieves the twofold objectives of ensuring cares to all patients and eradicating the disease.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms Ability to Collude

We examine a duopoly with polluting production where firms adopt a form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to define their objective functions. Our analysis focusses on the bearings of CSR on collusion over an infinite horizon, sustained by either grim trigger strategies or optimal punishments. Our results suggest that assigning a weight to consumer surplus has a pro-competitive e¤ect under both full and partial collusion. Conversely, a higher impact of productivity on pollution has an anti-competitive effect under partial collusion, while exerting no effect under full collusion. Under partial collusion, the analysis of the isoquant map of the cartel reveals that complementarity arises between the two weights.

The Environmental Impact of Bertrand and Cournot Duopolies. A Cautionary Note

We compare a Bertrand with a Cournot duopoly in a setting where production is polluting and exploits natural resources, and firms bear convex production costs. We adopt Dastidar's (1995) approach, yielding a continuum of Bertrand-Nash equilibria ranging above marginal cost pricing also, to show that softening price competition may lead to a lower output production in a Bertrand rather than a Cournot industry. The market structure bringing about the lowest output determines the highest social welfare, given the fact that the negative environmental effects of production more than offset the gain in consumer surplus.

The Sex and the Uni: Educational Assortative Matching the Over-Education*

Educational assortative matching encourages individuals to acquire education so as to increase the probability of marrying a high-income partner. But since everyone is more educated, the chances of a good match do not change. Hence over education emerges, as in absence of educational assortative matching individuals could reach their optimal level of education by exploiting less educational resources. Over-education is stronger the higher the probability of educational assortative matching, the larger the relative importance of the partner.s income in determining utility and ability levels, and the lower the cost of education. Government intervention can reach a socially e¢ cient level of education through either a tax on education or income.Educational Assortative Matching; Over-Education.