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The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and heterologous immunization approaches implemented worldwide for booster doses call for diversified vaccine portfolios. GRAd-COV2 is a gorilla adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate encoding prefusion-stabilized spike. The safety and immunogenicity of GRAd-COV2 is evaluated in a dose- and regimen-finding phase 2 trial (COVITAR study, ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04791423) whereby 917 eligible participants are randomized to receive a single intramuscular GRAd-COV2 administration followed by placebo, or two vaccine injections, or two doses of placebo, spaced over 3 weeks. Here, we report that GRAd-COV2 is well tolerated and induces robust immune responses after a single immunization; a second administration increases binding and neutralizing antibody titers. Potent, variant of concern (VOC) cross-reactive spike-specific T cell response peaks after the first dose and is characterized by high frequencies of CD8s. T cells maintain immediate effector functions and high proliferative potential over time. Thus, GRAd vector is a valuable platform for genetic vaccine development, especially when robust CD8 response is needed.

In this paper, we provide an estimate of the impact of money laundering on residential house market prices. The housing market is commonly exploited by criminal organizations to clean illegal profits. The increase in demand due to money laundering contrasts the negative externality of crime on house prices, which has been investigated by a large literature. We build a new dataset on residential house prices at the provincial level in Italy over the period 2005-2012, obtaining a sample of 672 observations. We then estimate a hedonic equilibrium price model, controlling for proxies both for illegal profits derived from "entrepreneurial" crimes (drug dealing, receiving stolen goods, prostitution) and for violent crimes (extortions), together with traditional market drivers. Adding to the evidence from the traditional literature, which remarks the negative impact of crime on house prices, our findings suggest that money laundering from "entrepreneurial" crimes creates an upward distortion in the housing market prices. The impact is stronger where retail markets for illicit trades are richer.

We experimentally investigate the link between individuals' value on future incomes and their support for redistributive policies today. The investigation identifies time preferences as a key driver of redistributive pol-icies via their effect on personal responsibility, defined as costly but productive effort. The investigation also accounts for the strategic interplay between individuals in the choice of effort, identifying two key strategies: either exercise more effort and ask for less redistribution or free ride on others' efforts, asking for more redis-tribution. We find that individuals oriented toward the future tend to invest more and ask for less redistribution. We discuss the policy implications of this result.

Noninvasive prenatal screening tests help identify genetic disorders in a fetus, but their take-up remains low in several countries. Using a regression discontinuity design, we test the causal effect of a policy that eliminated co-payments for noninvasive screening tests in Italy. We identify the treatment effects by a discontinuity in women's eligibility for a free test based on their conception date. We find that the policy increases the probability of women's undergoing noninvasive screening tests by 5.5 percentage points, and the effect varies by socioeconomic status. We do not find evidence of substitution effects with more expensive and riskier invasive diagnostic tests. In addition, the increase in take-up does not affect pregnancy termination or newborn health. We find some evidence of positive effects on mothers’ health behaviors during pregnancy as measured by reductions in mothers’ weight gain and hospital admissions during pregnancy, but these are statistically significant only at the 10 percent level.

We evaluate the relationship between hospital ownership and responses to a policy providing large financial incentives for vaginal deliveries and financial disincentives for C-sections. We compare for-profit, nonprofit, and public hospitals operating in a public health care system organized according to the quasi-market model. We first theoretically show that hospital ownership matters insofar different hospitals are characterized by different ethical preferences. We also show that competition makes ownership less important. We then consider the case study of Lombardy in Italy. We exploit spatial variation in hospital ownership and in market concentration at the local level to evaluate the relationship between ownership and the probability of C-section. According to theory, empirical results strongly suggest that competitive pressures from alternative providers tend to homogenize behaviors. However, in local monopolies, in presence of a strong monetary incentive toward vaginal deliveries, we do observe less C-section from private for-profit hospitals than from public and private nonprofit hospitals, especially when C-sections are medically appropriate.

We evaluate the relationship between hospital ownership and responses to a policy providing large financial incentives for vaginal deliveries and financial disincentives for C-sections. We compare for-profit, nonprofit, and public hospitals operating in a public health care system organized according to the quasi-market model. We first theoretically show that hospital ownership matters insofar different hospitals are characterized by different ethical preferences. We also show that competition makes ownership less important. We then consider the case study of Lombardy in Italy. We exploit spatial variation in hospital ownership and in market concentration at the local level to evaluate the relationship between ownership and the probability of C-section. According to theory, empirical results strongly suggest that competitive pressures from alternative providers tend to homogenize behaviors. However, in local monopolies, in presence of a strong monetary incentive toward vaginal deliveries, we do observe less C-section from private for-profit hospitals than from public and private nonprofit hospitals, especially when C-sections are medically appropriate.

Since 2007, Italian regions running large deficits underwent recovery plans (Piani di Rientro) imposed by the central government. The goal was twofold: regions were asked (i) to restore a balanced budget and (ii) to continue supply the set of services defined by the constitution. We investigate whether recovery plans have reached their objectives. Our evidence suggests that recovery plans have proved to be an effective mechanism to eliminate subnational governments deficits. We also do not find any significant effects on health care utilization and on citizens' health. Overall, spending efficiency has likely improved.

We discuss the issue of how schools should be financed, concentrating on the role of private funding and public funding via sub-national governments as accountability mechanisms in the provision of educational services. The historical evolution of school regulation in Italy and Spain has created differences in the percentage of pupils who attend private schools, the percentage of private school funding coming from public and private sources, and the percentage of public school funding that comes from central or local government sources. We take advantage of these institutional diversities rooted in history to estimate the disciplining role of these different sources of funding in the context of an educational production function using PISA data. Our results provide support to both accountability mechanisms, and point to the presence of an important interplay between them.