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Questa tesi mira a costruire un quadro teorico ed empirico per testare le complementarità tra scelte di debito con scadenza diversa e l’effetto dell'eterogeneità della scadenza del debito sulle scelte di finanziamento e di investimento delle imprese. La maggior parte dei modelli di struttura del capitale esistenti presuppone che le imprese scelgano in modo ottimale la propria politica finanziaria utilizzando un unico tipo di debito, escludendo ogni possibile vantaggio di un profilo di finanziamento più complesso. Tuttavia, una diversificazione delle scadenze del debito può influire sull'investimento di un'impresa se le economie di scopo riducono i costi finanziari. In presenza di costi del debito convessi, le imprese scelgono una composizione ottimale delle fonti di debito per minimizzare i costi della finanza esterna, sfruttando in modo efficiente eventuali complementarità di costo. Il primo capitolo introduce un modello che consente di verificare la complementarità dei costi tra il debito a breve e a lungo termine controllando per le opportunità di investimento. I risultati empirici rivelano che le imprese non beneficiano di complementarietà tra debito a breve e a lungo termine indipendentemente dalla scale degli investimenti. Diversamente, i coefficienti negativi e statisticamente significativi su entrambe le fonti di finanziamento supportano l'esistenza di convessità dei costi finanziari una volta controllate le opportunità di investimento. Quindi, quando le imprese scelgono l'emissione ottimale di debito a breve e a lungo termine, compensano i diversi costi del tasso di interesse con convessità specifiche della scadenza del debito. Il secondo capitolo indaga le complementarità strategiche tra debito a breve e a lungo termine. In particolare, consentendo alle imprese di emettere debito sia a breve che a lungo termine, si indaga se la combinazione delle due fonti di finanziamento aumenta i profitti rispetto a strategie che utilizzano soltanto un tipo di debito. I risultati dell'analisi empirica suggeriscono che per la maggior parte dei settori manifatturieri non esistono complementarietà strategiche tra il debito a breve e quello a lungo termine. Tuttavia, le due fonti risultano essere complementi strategici in specifici settori. Infine, nel terzo capitolo, sviluppiamo e stimiamo un modello teorico in cui la politica di investimento e l'emissione di debito sono variabili endogene e le imprese emettono debito a breve e a lungo termine per finanziare le proprie spese in conto capitale. Questa strategia non presuppone l'esistenza di obiettivi di debito espliciti; invece, consente di ricostruire gli obiettivi di debito, definiti contingenti, a partire dalle decisioni di investimento e di finanziamento delle imprese. L'analisi empirica suggerisce che gli obiettivi di debito variano a seconda delle imprese con caratteristiche finanziarie, dimensioni e rating del credito differenti. This dissertation aims to build a theoretical and empirical framework to test for complementarities between debt maturity choices and to study the effect of debt maturity heterogeneity on firms’ financing and investment choices. Most existing capital structure models assume that firms optimally choose their financial policy using a single debt type, excluding any possible advantage of a more complex financing profile. However, borrowing diversity can affect a firm’s investment if economies of scope reduce financial costs. In the presence of convex debt costs, business firms choose an optimal composition of debt sources to minimize the costs of external finance, efficiently exploiting any cost-complementarities. The first chapter introduces a model that allows testing for cost-complementarities be- tween short-and long-term debt while controlling for investment opportunities. The empirical results reveal that firms do not benefit from complementarities between short- and long-term debt independently of the investment scale. Differently, the negative and statistically significant coefficients on both financing sources support the existence of financial cost convexities once controlling for investment opportunities. Hence, when firms choose the optimal issuance of short-and long-term debt, they trade off the different interest rate costs with debt-maturity-specific convexities. The second chapter investigates strategic complementarities between short-and long- term debt. In particular, by allowing firms to issue both short-and long-term debt, I study whether combining the two financing sources is profit-enhancing compared to single-debt-type strategies. The results of the empirical analysis suggest that for most manufacturing sectors, shorter and longer maturities are not strategic complements. However, they are strategic complements in some specific sectors. Finally, in the third chapter, we develop and estimate a theoretical model in which investment policy and debt issuance are endogenous variables and firms issue costly short- and long-term debt to finance their capital expenditure. This strategy does not assume the existence of explicit debt targets; instead, it allows for the recovery of contingent debt targets from firms’ investment and financing decisions. The analysis revealed that contingent debt target ratios vary across firms with different financial characteristics, sizes and credit ratings.

This paper addresses the relationship between the protection of foreign investment and the protection of human rights in the public services sector when this is privately operated by foreign investors. It focouses on the gradual developments emerging from a selective analysis of international investment arbitration case law. On the basis of this analysis, the paper highlights the gradual, though slow, trend towards harmonization between the two relevant international normative regimes, i.e. investment protection law and human rights law. It also elaborates on the possible furtherance of the bridge between the two under the general principles of proportionality and equity .

Il contributo mira a considerare le questioni pregiudiziali attinenti all'ammissibilità degli investimenti privati nel settore delle cosiddette "public utilities" e il ruolo dello Stato ospitante in materia, tenendo conto in particolare del diritto umani all'acqua. Inoltre, tenendo conto della prassi giurisprudenziale e del quadro normativo, tanto convenzionale che legato ai principi di proporzionalità e diligenza, il contributo mira ad indicare un possibile bilanciamento tra gli interessi dell'investitore estero e quelli della collettività.

Il saggio analizza il fenomeno degli investimenti cinesi in Africa dal punto di vista giuridico

This article addresses the relationship between the protection of foreign investment and the protection of public interests of host States, with special regard to the public utilities sector when privately operated by foreign investors. It primarily focuses on an assessment of the scope of the concept of public interest particularly in the light of the interpretative developments concerning national security and general well-being that may be afffected by foreign investment. The article highlights the trend gradually emerging from the recent international investment arbitration case law towards the harmonization between foreign investment interests and local public interests. It considers the policy rationale behind such a trend, as well as the legal reasoning and principles, with special regard to due diligence and proportionality, which may possibly enhance it. This article addresses the relationship between the protection of foreign investment and the protection of public interests of host States, with special regard to the public utilities sector when privately operated by foreign investors. It primarily focuses on an assessment of the scope of the concept of public interest particularly in the light of the interpretative developments concerning national security and general well-being that may be afffected by foreign investment. The article highlights the trend gradually emerging from the recent international investment arbitration case law towards the harmonization between foreign investment interests and local public interests. It considers the policy rationale behind such a trend, as well as the legal reasoning and principles, with special regard to due diligence and proportionality, which may possibly enhance it.

Several institutions have pointed to financial education as a means of facing the contemporary crisis. However, research on financial literacy and money attitudes among children has as yet been rather scarce. Some studies maintain that women and men receive different economic socialization patterns, and consequently develop different levels of financial literacy and gendered money attitudes that in turn reproduce economic inequalities. This study was conducted in order to shed light on gender differences in financial literacy and money attitudes among preadolescents in Northern Italy. The survey used here consisted of a selfcompletion questionnaire administered to a sample of 1,635 students aged 12-14 years. Gender differences are estimated using several linear regression models and a binomial logistic regression model. Empirical analysis reveals significant gender differences in money attitudes, but not in financial literacy. These findings are discussed with suggestions for sustaining gender equality and designing future financial education programs.

The objective of this study is to carry out an analysis of investment behaviour among farming systems of selected EU regions, and to assess the impact of the 2003 CAP reform on producers' investment behaviour, and on their sustainability. It includes a review of the literature, a description of the methodology, the results of the empirical analysis and conclusions.