Fabrizio FERRETTI - personale UniMoRe

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Fabrizio FERRETTI

Ricercatore Universitario
Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia

Pubblicazioni

2024 - Food policies: balancing health and market in the era of ubiquitous ultra-processed foods [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Malorgio, Giulio
abstract

As the development of modern food systems continues to reshape dietary habits, the need for effective food policies to counter the rise of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) becomes increasingly urgent. UPFs are industrial formulations of several highly refined ingredients and additives with little or no nutritional value but potentially harmful health effects. In this paper, we develop a simple model of duopolistic competition in which food manufacturers compete by choosing the degree of food sophistication of their products (i.e., the degree of food formulation and processing). We show that when firms compete for market shares, an unhealthy degree of food sophistication is a strategically stable Nash–Bertrand equilibrium outcome. Furthermore, we compare the effectiveness of alternative health-related food policies. Our model highlights the shortcomings of nutrient-to-limit regulations and suggests that policy interventions should prioritize whole-food reformulation-based approaches within an 'ecological' regulatory framework.

2023 - Can a heterogeneous gastronomic environment reduce food neophobia? It depends on political orientation [Articolo su rivista]
Guidetti, Margherita; Ferretti, Fabrizio; Cavazza, Nicoletta
abstract

This paper reports an empirical study investigating the negative relationship between the perceived exposure of individuals to a heterogeneous gastronomic environment and their level of food neophobia, over and above the known individual antecedents. In addition, considering the social roots of food neophobia, we tested whether participants’ political orientation moderated this relationship. Our results confirmed these hypotheses: liberals’ food neophobia decreased with increasing gastronomic heterogeneity, but this was not true for conservatives. The implications of these findings are important in both theory and practice as they highlight a contextual factor that may reduce food neophobia, an individual orientation that has a negative impact on both health and the environment.

2023 - Physician density: will we ever close the gap? [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Mariani, Michele; Sarti, Elena
abstract

Objective: Physician density is a crucial element of a well-functioning health system. Previous research has investigated factors affecting country-level physician supply. To date, however, no evidence has been provided about the patterns of convergence in physician density among countries. This paper thus tested club convergence in physician density in 204 countries worldwide from 1990 to 2019. A nonlinear time-varying factor model was adopted to identify potential clubs, wherein groups of countries tend to converge towards the same level of physician density. Our primary purpose was to document the potential long-lasting disparity in future global physician distribution. Results: Despite physician density increasing in all regions globally from 1990 to 2019, we found no evidence in favor of the hypothesis of global convergence. Conversely, the clustering algorithm successfully identified three main patterns (i.e., three final clubs). With few exceptions, the results indicated an uneven physician distribution between the majority of North and Sub-Saharan African countries (where physician density would remain well below the estimated threshold of at least 70% of the Universal Health Coverage Services Index) and the rest of the world. These findings support the WHO's global strategy to reverse the chronic under-investment in human resources for health.

2022 - Does the Prevalence of Obesity Affect the Demand for Soft Drinks? Evidence from Cross-Country Panel Data [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Mariani, Michele; Sarti, Elena
abstract

The impact of soft drinks on obesity has been widely investigated during the last decades. Conversely, the role of obesity as a factor influencing the demand for soft drinks remains largely unexplored. However, understanding potential changes in the demand for soft drinks, as a result of changes in the spread of obesity, may be useful to better design a comprehensive strategy to curb soft drink consumption. In this paper, we aim to answer the following research question: Does the prevalence of obesity affect the demand for soft drinks? For this purpose, we collected data in a sample of 97 countries worldwide for the period 2005–2019. To deal with problems of reverse causality, an instrumental variable approach and a two-stage least squares method were used to estimate the impact of the age-standardized obesity rate on the market demand for soft drinks. After controlling for several demographic and socio-economic confounding factors, we found that a one percent increase in the prevalence of obesity increases the consumption of soft drinks and carbonated soft drinks by about 2.37 and 1.11 L per person/year, respectively. Our findings corroborate the idea that the development of an obesogenic food environment is a self-sustaining process, in which obesity and unhealthy lifestyles reinforce each other, and further support the need for an integrated approach to curb soft drink consumption by combining sugar taxes with bans, regulations, and nutrition education programs.

2022 - Patterns of Deindustrialization: Are Countries Converging? [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Mariani, Michele; Sarti, Elena
abstract

During the last decades, the share of manufacturing in aggregate output (and employment) has declined in almost all advanced and emerging economies. In this paper, we investigated the patterns of deindustrialization in a sample of 117 (low-, middle-, and high-income) countries from 1995 to 2018. To this aim, we applied the nonlinear time-varying factor model, initially proposed by Phillips and Sul, to identify potential clubs wherein groups of countries converge toward a similar manufacturing share of GDP. Furthermore, we estimated an ordered logit model to assess the impact of economic globalization and technological revolution on the probability of falling into a particular club. Our results did not provide any support for the hypothesis of global convergence. However, the clustering algorithm successfully identified four strong final clubs, where the share of manufacturing on GDP ranges, on average, from 6% to 18%. Finally, the logit model indicated that as the R&D expenditures and the technological content of manufactured goods increased, so did the likelihood of belonging to a club with a high share of manufacturing value-added on GDP

2022 - Testing Club Convergence in Female Smoking Prevalence [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Mariani, Michele; Sarti, Elena
abstract

In this paper, we applied the concept of convergence to examine the evolution of smoking prevalence among women in 191 countries worldwide from 1990 to 2019. First, the non-linear time-varying factor model proposed by Phillips and Sul was adopted to identify potential clusters (clubs), wherein groups of countries converge to similar female smoking rates. Second, an ordered logit regression model was used to assess the impact of cigarette affordability on the probability of falling within a given cluster. The hypothesis of global convergence was rejected. However, the clustering algorithm successfully identified five and nine clubs, within countries with increasing and decreasing smoking prevalence, respectively. A higher relative income-price ratio (i.e., lower cigarette affordability) increased the likelihood of belonging to a club of countries with a low prevalence of female tobacco smoking.

2021 - Female smoking prevalence: Are we moving toward a tobacco free-world? [Working paper]
Ferretti, F; Mariani, M; Sarti, E
abstract

In this paper, we applied the concept of convergence to examine the evolution of smoking prevalence among women in 191 countries worldwide during the period 1990–2019. The nonlinear time-varying factor model proposed by Phillips and Sul was adopted to identify potential clusters (clubs), wherein groups of countries converge to similar female smoking rates. An ordered logit regression model was used to assess the impact of cigarettes affordability on the probability of countries to fall within a given cluster. The hypothesis of global convergence was rejected.

2021 - Is the development of obesogenic food environments a self-reinforcing process? Evidence from soft drink consumption [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, F.; Mariani, M.; Sarti, E.
abstract

Background: Understanding how the development of obesogenic food environments and the consumption of ultra-processed foods and beverages influence each other can help policymakers to identify effective ways to curb the current obesity epidemic. This paper was designed to investigate whether, and to what extent, the consumption of soft drinks and the prevalence of obesity are linked through feedback effects. Methods: An ecological study design and a simultaneous equation model were used to investigate the existence of a vicious cycle between the consumption of soft drinks and the prevalence of obesity. The analysis was based on a longitudinal dataset covering per capita sales of soft drinks, the age-standardised prevalence rate of obesity and several demographic and socio-economic control variables in a sample of 98 countries worldwide for the period 2005–2019. Results: Using a Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) regression model with fixed effects, we documented a self-reinforcing process that links consumption and obesity. Changes in the spread of obesity were associated with changes in soft drink consumption: a one-unit increase in the age-adjusted prevalence rate of obesity increased consumption by about 2.39 l per person per year. Similarly, as the consumption of soft drinks rose, so did the prevalence of obesity: the age-adjusted rate of obesity increased by 0.07% for every additional litre consumed per capita. Computing the impact multipliers, we found that the outcome of a one-unit decrease in the average price of soft drinks was twofold: a) the prevalence of obesity increased by around 0.17%; and b) consumption increased by around 2.40 l per person, the sum of the increase directly caused by the price reduction (2 l) and the increase due to the interplay between consumption and obesity (0.4 l). Conclusions: This study has identified a feedback loop between unhealthy habits (i.e. the consumption of soft drinks) and health outcomes (i.e. the prevalence of obesity). This interplay amplifies the impact of any exogenous changes in the determinants of consumption and obesity. These feedback effects should be considered and exploited in planning effective strategies to tackle the burden of obesity and the global epidemic of non-communicable diseases.

2021 - Soft drink and obesity [Banca dati]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Soft drinks and obesity

2020 - Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes: Origins, Mechanisms, and Current Worldwide Status [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

The emergence of modern food systems has been causing unhealthy changes in the dietary patterns of millions of consumers worldwide. Nowadays, ultra-processed foods and beverages represent an increasing fraction of the total daily energy intake in both advanced and emerging economies. Most of these products are typically low in nutrients but high in one or more added ingredients, such as in the case of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) usually rich in free sugars. The regular consumption of SSBs has been associated with adverse health outcomes, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Taxes are an increasingly popular approach to attempt reducing the overconsumption of SSBs. This chapter provides a non-technical description of the rationale, mechanisms, and current worldwide status of taxes on SSBs.

2019 - Basic concepts of tobacco epidemiology and economics [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

This paper iis a brief guide to some basic concepts of tobacco epidemiology and economics. Firstly, we introduce the main indicators usually employed to assess tobacco consumption in a given population. Secondly, we develop a simple demand model to illustrate how prices, consumers’ income and tastes, and tobacco control measures interact in determining the quantity consumed and the number of smokers.

2019 - Chapter 1 - Understanding Tobacco Use in Different Countries [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Understanding the economic determinants of tobacco consumption and measuring tobacco use across countries are essential to design and implement effective tobacco prevention programs. This chapter is a brief guide to some basic concepts of tobacco epidemiology and economics. Firstly, we introduce the main indicators usually employed to assess tobacco consumption in a given population. Secondly, we develop a simple demand model to illustrate how prices, consumers’ income and tastes, and tobacco control measures interact in determining the quantity consumed and the number of smokers. Finally, we use the latest estimations available to provide an overview of tobacco use worldwide.

2019 - Computing soft drink affordability in 185 countries [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Affordability considers the simultaneous effects of both price and disposable income on the buying decision. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of SSB affordability on the consumers’ purchasing behaviour and weight-related health outcomes. Our study was divided into three parts. First, we computed SSB consumption and affordability for approximately 150 countries worldwide. Second, we estimated a demand function for SSBs to assess the impact of affordability on consumption at the country level. Third, we used a multivariate regression model and country data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity to test the role of SSB affordability in the current obesity epidemic.

2019 - Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes: Origins, Mechanisms, and Current Worldwide Status [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

The emergence of modern food systems has been causing unhealthy changes in the dietary patterns of millions of consumers worldwide. Nowadays, ultra-processed foods and beverages represent an increasing fraction of the total daily energy intake in both advanced and emerging economies. Most of these products are typically low in nutrients but high in one or more added ingredients. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are usually rich in free sugars. The regular consumption of SSBs has been associated with adverse health outcomes, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Taxes are an increasingly popular approach to attempt reducing the over-consumption of SSBs. This chapter provides a non-technical description of the rationale, mechanisms, and current worldwide status of taxes on SSBs.

2019 - Sugar-sweetened beverage affordability and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a cross section of countries [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Mariani, Michele
abstract

Background: A key component of 'obesogenic environments' is the ready availability of convenient, calorie-dense foods, in the form of hyper-palatable and relatively inexpensive ultra-processed products. Compelling evidence indicates that the regular consumption of soft drinks, specifically carbonated and non-carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), has a significant impact on the prevalence of overweight and obesity. However, to implement country-level effective prevention programmes we need to supplement this evidence with quantitative knowledge of the relationships between overweight/obesity and the main determinants of SSB consumption, notably SSB prices and consumers' disposable income. Method: Affordability considers the simultaneous effects of both price and disposable income on the buying decision. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of SSB affordability on the consumers' purchasing behaviour and weight-related health outcomes. Our study was divided into three parts. First, we computed SSB consumption and affordability for approximately 150 countries worldwide. Second, we estimated a demand function for SSBs to assess the impact of affordability on consumption at the country level. Third, we used a multivariate regression model and country data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity to test the role of SSB affordability in the current obesity epidemic. Results: The analysis reveals that SSB affordability: 1) showed both a large variability across countries and a clear tendency to increase substantially with the level of economic development; 2) played a key role in determining cross-country differences in the amount of soft drink consumed per capita; and 3) was significantly associated with the prevalence rates of both overweight and obesity. Specifically, we show that a 10 % increase in SSB affordability was associated, on average, with approximately 0.4 more overweight/obese adults per 100 inhabitants. Conclusions: By controlling for the main possible confounding factors, our results clearly indicate that affordability is a major driver of purchasing behaviours and is significantly associated with the prevalence rates of both overweight and obesity. We thus suggest a fiscal approach to curb SSB consumption based on the effectiveness of 'soda taxes' to affect the long-term dynamic of SSB affordability.

2017 - Dietary Patterns, Economic Development and the Global Overweight and Obesity Pandemic [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Nowadays, overweight and obesity are among the major global health concerns. These diet-related diseases impose high tangible and intangible costs, and threaten the sustainability of health-care systems, not just in advanced economies but also in developing countries. The main purpose of this paper is to study the impact of economic development on the ongoing nutrition transition processes and, as a result, on the prevalence of overweight and obesity worldwide. We provide a framework to model factors most influencing consumers’ behaviour towards healthy and unhealthy foods. We thus collect figures for 185 countries over the period 2012–2014 regarding the shares of simple (sugar and sweetener) and complex (cereal) carbohydrates in each country’s total dietary energy supply, to meet three goals: 1) estimate the impact of these shares on the country’s prevalence of overweight and obesity; 2) compute an indicator of country’s dietary pattern; and 3) measure the reactivity of both dietary pattern and overweight and obesity to raising living standards. We find that unhealthy eating habits and the associated prevalence of excessive body fat accumulation tend to behave as a ‘normal good’ in developing countries, but as an ‘inferior good’ in developed ones. These results may have helpful implications for both public health authorities and health-care industry experts involved in developing assessment of the future evolution of the so-called ‘obesity pandemic’.

2017 - Gender discrimination, gender disparities in obesity and human development [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Mariani, Michele
abstract

Measuring gender inequality and women’s empowerment is essential to understand the determinants of gender gaps, evaluate policies and monitor countries’ progress. With this aim, over the past two decades, research has mainly been directed towards the development of composite indices. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new and interdisciplinary perspective to the current debate on measuring gender inequality in human development. As a starting point, we develop a simple macroeconomic model of the interdependence between human development and gender inequality. We then introduce a biometric indicator, based on the ratio of female to male body mass index, to measure women’s empowerment at the country level. Finally, by using the latest available data, we examine the ability of this biometric indicator to capture countries’ performance in achieving gender equality. We obtain five main results: 1) we provide a theoretical framework to explain the joint determination of human development and gender inequality; 2) we show how to use this framework to simulate the impact of exogenous shocks or policy changes; 3) we demonstrate that exogenous changes have a direct and a multiplier effect on human development and gender inequality; 4) we find that the distribution of obesity between the female and male populations represents a useful proxy variable for measuring gender equality at the country level; 5) finally, we use these results to integrate and develop existing knowledge on the ‘ecological’ approach to the overweight and obesity pandemic.

2017 - Simple vs. Complex Carbohydrate Dietary Patterns and the Global Overweight and Obesity Pandemic [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Mariani, Michele
abstract

Abstract: Nowadays, obesity and being overweight are among the major global health concerns. Many, diet-related diseases impose high tangible and intangible costs, and threaten the sustainability of health-care systems worldwide. In this study, we model, at the macroeconomic level, the impact of energy intake from different types of carbohydrates on the population’s BMI (body mass index). We proceed in three steps. First, we develop a framework to analyse both the consumption choices between simple and complex carbohydrates and the effects of these choices on people health conditions. Second, we collect figures for 185 countries (over the period 2012–2014) regarding the shares of simple (sugar and sweetener) and complex (cereal) carbohydrates in each country’s total dietary energy supply. Third, we use regression techniques to: (1) estimate the impact of these shares on the country’s prevalence of obesity and being overweight; (2) compute for each country an indicator of dietary pattern based on the ratio between simple and complex carbohydrates, weighted by their estimated effects on the prevalence of obesity and being overweight; and (3) measure the elasticity of the prevalence of obesity and being overweight with respect to changes in both carbohydrate dietary pattern and income per capita. We find that unhealthy eating habits and the associated prevalence of excessive body fat accumulation tend to behave as a ‘normal good’ in low, medium- and high-HDI (Human Development Index) countries, but as an ‘inferior good’ in very high-HDI countries.

2016 - Gender Discrimination and Human Developmnet: A Diagrammatic Explanation [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

The purpose of this paper is to develop a simple macroeconomic model to analyse the two-way interplay between human development and gender inequality. We show how to use this model to simulate the impact of exogenous shocks or policy changes and we demonstrate that exogenous changes have a direct and a multiplier effect on human development and gender inequality.

2016 - The gender obesity ratio [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

In this brief research article we introduce a simple indicator to capture the impact of human development on gender inequality. To this aim, we compute the ratio between the prevalence of overweight and obesity in female and male populations for 158 worldwide countries in 2014. We find that this ‘gender obesity ratio’ may be a useful tool to summarise and visualise the complex relationship between human development and gender inequality.

2015 - A simple framework for analysing the impact of economic growth on non-communicable diseases [Articolo su rivista]
Cohen, Ivan K.; Ferretti, Fabrizio; McIntosh, Bryan
abstract

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are currently the leading cause of death worldwide. In this paper, we examine the channels through which economic growth affects NCDs’ epidemiology. Following a production function approach, we develop a basic technique to break up the impact of economic growth on NCDs into three fundamental components: (1) a resource effect; (2) a behaviour effect; and (3) a knowledge effect. We demonstrate that each of these effects can be measured as the product of two elasticities, the output and income elasticity of the three leading factors influencing the frequency of NCDs in any population: health care, health-related behaviours and lifestyle, and medical knowledge.

2015 - Economic growth and the harmful effects of student loan debt on biomedical research [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Jones, Simon; McIntosh, Bryan
abstract

Modern theories of economic growth emphasise the key role of human capital and technological progress in determining a society's standard of living. In some advanced countries, however, higher education costs and the level of indebtedness among graduates have increased dramatically during recent years. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the United States, and within the biomedical sciences sector. In this paper, we develop a basic model of economic growth in order to investigate the effects of biomedical graduate indebtedness on the allocation of human resources in R&D activities and hence on the growth process. In particular, we derive a ‘science–growth curve’, i.e., a relation between the share of pure researchers and the economy's rate of growth, and we find two possible effects of student indebtedness on economic growth: a composition effect and a productivity effect.

2015 - Pandora box: The eurozone and the euro crisis [Articolo su rivista]
Mcintosh, Bryan; Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

The global economy has experienced considerable turbulence since 2007. The fnancial crisis has been viewed as the trigger for a prolonged period of eco- nomic decline. This decline remains an issue for all member states of the European Union, the eurozone and beyond. We argue genesis of this crisis lies in the integra- tion negotiations of 1991, ratifed in 1992. These produced a fawed economic mod- el within the eurozone. Given the seeds of decay were planted at origin; we argue the solution can be found through a reconstructed eurozone via looser integration, where countries less equipped to deal with the realities of closer integration will be economically independent.

2015 - The eurozone and the euro crisis [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Mcintosh, Bryan
abstract

The European debt crisis is an ongoing fnancial crisis that has made it difcult or impossible for some countries in the euro area to repay or re-fnance their government debt without the assistance of third parties. The European sovereign debt crisis resulted from a combination of complex factors, including the globalisation of fnance; easy credit conditions during the 2002–2008 period that encouraged high-risk lending and borrowing practices; the 2007–2012 global fnancial crisis; international trade imbalances; real-estate bubbles that have since burst; the 2008–2012 global recession; fscal policy choices related to government revenues and expenses; and approaches used by nations to bail out troubled banking industries and private bondholders, assuming private debt burdens or socialising losses. In this paper, we discuss this crisis and the long-term solution to it.

2015 - UBI: The Unhealthy Behaviour Index [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

2015 - Unhealthy Behaviours: An International Comparison [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

In the current global economy, chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become the leading cause of death and a major health concern for both developed and developing countries. Among other factors, the worldwide spread of NCDs is driven by the globalisation of unhealthy habits. The purpose of this paper is to develop a simple statistic to measure, at the national level, the average population's exposure to the main NCDs modifiable risk factors. The approach and methodology followed by the United Nations Development Programme to compute the Human Development Index (HDI) is applied to four basic indicators of NCD-related preventable risk factors (alcohol consumption, excess caloric intake, non-balanced diet and tobacco use) in 112 countries worldwide in 2012-14. We obtain a summary composite index, which we call the Unhealthy Behaviour Index (UBI), which ranks countries by the average level of the unhealthy habits (drinking, eating and smoking) of their populations. We find that Belarus and Russian federation are the two countries with the unhealthiest NCD-related lifestyle. With the exception of Canada, the first twenty populations more exposed to the main NCDs preventable risk factors all live in European countries, and mainly in countries of Eastern Europe. Overall, the UBI tends to increase along with the level of human development. In medium, high and very high HDI countries, however, the same level of human development may be associated with very different kinds of NCD-related lifestyles. Finally, economic growth may push populations toward either more unhealthy or healthy habits, depending on the countries' level of development; the elasticity of unhealthy habits with respect to income per capita is positive (but less than one: on average 0.6) until $30,000, decreases as income rises, and becomes negative (around -0.3) in very high income countries.

2014 - Decomposing the misery index: A dynamic approach [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Ivan K., Cohen; Bryan, Macintosh
abstract

The misery index (the unweighted sum of unemployment and inflation rates) was probably the first attempt to develop a single statistic to measure the level of a population’s economic malaise. In this letter, we develop a dynamic approach to decompose the misery index using two basic relations of modern macroeconomics: the expectations-augmented Phillips curve and Okun’s law. Our reformulation of the misery index is closer in spirit to Okun’s idea. However, we are able to offer an improved version of the index, mainly based on output and unemployment. Specifically, this new Okun’s index measures the level of economic discomfort as a function of three key factors: (1) the misery index in the previous period; (2) the output gap in growth rate terms; and (3) cyclical unemployment. This dynamic approach differs substantially from the standard one utilised to develop the misery index, and allow us to obtain an index with five main interesting features: (1) it focuses on output, unemployment and inflation; (2) it considers only objective variables; (3) it allows a distinction between short-run and long-run phenomena; (4) it places more importance on output and unemployment rather than inflation; and (5) it weights recessions more than expansions.

2014 - Economic structural change and cancer incidence [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Bryan, Mcintosh
abstract

The purpose of this paper is to highlight some basic empirical regularities and theoretical insights to be considered for further research to develop an economic theory of cancer incidence.

2014 - Health Accounting: An Introductory Note [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Bryan, Mcintosh
abstract

Abstract Background: Economic growth and public health are inextricably linked. This complex relationship is at the heart of our understanding of the social determinants of health at macroeconomic level. Better knowledge about the consequences of economic growth on the population’s health conditions may aid both academics and policy maker in developing policies to improve people’s quality of life. Methods: In economics it is usual to model people’s health status as a function of the causes of health using a production function. Following this standard approach, in this paper we attempt to develop a ‘health accounting’ framework. In particular, we utilise the concepts of income and output elasticity to investigate the channels through which economic growth affects the population’s health conditions. Results: We introduce a basic technique to break up the influence of economic growth on the population’s health conditions into three main components: 1) a ‘resources effect’; 2) a ‘behaviours effect’; 3) and a ‘knowledge effect’. Each of these effects is the product of two elasticities: the output and income elasticity of the fundamental factors influencing public health: health care, health-related lifestyle, and medical knowledge. Conclusions: This paper provides a simple but coherent framework useful for describing and measuring the role of economic structural changes in determining public health. This health accounting approach allows us to investigate how the long-run macroeconomic evolution of a country’s is able to affect the general health conditions of its population.

2013 - Healthcare in crisis: What happened to mentoring? [Articolo su rivista]
Mcintosh, B.; Ferretti, F.
abstract

2013 - Healthcare in crisis: What happened to mentoring? A Comment [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Bryan, Mcintosh
abstract

The perceived decline in care and benchmark standards is arguably a product of competing benchmarks and the decline of traditional mentoring approaches positioned with the patient experience at its core.

2013 - Long-Run Macroeconomic Determinants of Cancer Incidence [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Simon, Jones; Bryan, Mcintosh
abstract

Background: Understanding how cancer incidence evolves during economic growth is useful for forecasting the economic impact of cancerous diseases, and for governing the process of resources allocation in planning health services. We analyse the relationship between economic growth and cancer incidence in order to describe and measure the influence of an increasing real per capita income on the overall rate of cancer incidence. Method: We test the relationship between real per capita income and the overall rate of cancer incidence with a cross- sectional analysis, using data from the World Bank and the World Health Organization databases, for 165 countries in 2008. We measure the elasticity of cancer incidence with respect to per capita income, and we decompose the elasticities coefficients into two components: age-effect and lifestyle-effect. Results: An Engel’s model, in a double-log quadratic specification, explains about half of the variations in the age- standardised rates and nearly two thirds of the variations in the incidence crude rates. All the elasticities of the crude rates are positive, but less than one. The income elasticity of the age-standardised rates are negative in lower income countries, and positive (around 0.25 and 0.32) in upper middle and high income countries, respectively. Conclusions: These results are used to develop a basic framework in order to explain how demand-side economic structural changes may affect the long run evolution of cancer incidence. At theoretical level, a J-Curve is a possible general model to represents, other things being equal, how economic growth influence cancer incidence.

2012 - A cross-sectional analysis of the macroeconomic determinants of cancer incidence [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

We test the relationship between real per capita income and the overall rate of cancer incidence with a cross-sectional analysis, using data from the World Bank and the World Health Organization databases, for 165 countries in 2008. An Engel’s model, in a double-log quadratic specification, explains about half of the variations in the age-standardised rates and nearly two thirds of the variations in the incidence crude rates. The income elasticity of the age-standardised rates are negative in lower income countries, and positive (around 0.25 and 0.32) in upper middle and high income countries, respectively. These results are used to develop a basic framework in order to explain how demand-side economic structural changes may affect the long run evolution of cancer incidence. At theoretical level, a J-Curve is a possible general model to represents, other things being equal, how economic growth influence cancer incidence.

2012 - An Alternative Approach to the Okun’s Index of Economic Discomfort [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

The great recession has refocused the attention on the consequences of economic fluctuations on population’s well-being. The so-called ‘Misery Index’ (or the Economic Discomfort Index, proposed by Ar-thur Okun) is probably the first attempt to develop a composite indicator to track the state of health of the macro-economy during business cycle. In this note, we provide a new approach to the misery index. Using the expectations-augmented Phillips curve and the Okun’s law, we derive a simple indicator based on the output gap and the cyclical unemployment. This reformulation improves the misery index, without losing its simplicity.

2012 - Biomedical Researchers, Economic Growth and the Harmful Effects of Student Loan Debt [Working paper]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Modern theories of economic growth emphasize the role of technological progress in determining a society’s standard of living. Progresses in the technological frontier are ultimately driven by new ideas, generated within the research and development (R&D) activities. In some advanced economies, however, higher education costs and the level of indebtedness among graduates have increased dramatically during recent years. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the United States, and within the biomedical science students. In this paper, we develop a basic model of economic growth in order to investigate the effects of biomedical graduates indebtedness on the allocation of human resources in the R&D activities, and thus on the long run growth process. We derive a ‘science-growth curve’ (a relation between the share of pure re-searcher and the economy rate of growth), and we find two possible effects of student indebtedness on eco-nomic growth: specifically, a composition effect and a productivity effect.

2010 - Economia del mercato agro-alimentare [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; F., Messori
abstract

Il mercato dei prodotti agricoli – o agricolo-alimentari in senso più esteso – costituisce necessario punto di riferimento sempre più indispensabile per chi produce e chi trasforma e commercializza ma, anche, argomento di crescente interesse per il consumatore man mano che lo sviluppo della tecnologia da un lato e la crescita del reddito e l’evoluzione dei comportamenti dall’altro ne vanno radicalmente mutando, rispettivamente, l’orizzonte economico e gli orientamenti delle scelte.La “categoria” del mercato non va però riscoperta solo nominalmente, magari costretti da un contingente stato di necessità come, ad esempio, quello di indicare all’agricoltore strumenti adatti a collocare convenientemente il singolo prodotto nelle condizioni vuoi di eccedenza produttiva (quella che attualmente caratterizza le economie sviluppate) vuoi di diffcoltà a soddisfare la domanda (che si verifca nelle economie sottosviluppate o che prospettano, in generale, alcuni scenari della futura crescita); oppure, all’estremo opposto, di suggerire al consumatore le scelte più convenienti in relazione al futtuare della propria capacità di spesa. Occorre invece prioritariamente organizzare un approccio conoscitivo che consenta una cultura analitico-operativa aperta a cogliere una visione d’assieme dei fatti economici lungo la fliera e delle loro correlazioni ed interdipendenze che trovano composizione nel mercato. Gli studi di mercato nel sistema agricolo-alimentare stanno avendo, nelle varie specializzazioni, notevole sviluppo ed approfondimento anche perché l’ottica dottrinale si orienta verso nuovi modelli interpretativi, sempre più lontani dalla libera concorrenza.

2010 - Fondamenti interpretativi dell'analisi quantitativa [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Introduzione ai fondamenti interpretativi dell'analisi quantitativa

2010 - Il mercato e la formazione del prezzo [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi dei modi di formazioen dei prezzi nei mercati agro-alimentari

2010 - La domanda e l'offerta dei prodotti agro-alimentari [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi delle caratteristiche della domanda e dell'offerta dei prodotti agro-alimentari

2009 - Agricoltura e dinamica strutturale [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Segrè, A.
abstract

Modello dell'evoluzione del settore agricolo in economie in sviluppo

2009 - L'analisi economica dell'agricoltura [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; A., Segrè
abstract

Analisi economica dell'impresa e del settore agricolo

2009 - Per un'economia politica agraria [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; A., Segrè
abstract

Formazione dei prezzi e progresso tecnico in agricoltura

2009 - Structural change and cancer incidence [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

After heart disease, cancer is the most common cause of death in many developed countries. Understanding how the overall cancer incidence evolves during economic growth can help macroeconomic attempts to forecast the economic impact of cancer and to manage resources allocation in planning health services. In this paper, we discuss the relationship between economic growth and cancer incidence. The purposes of the paper are to describe and measure the influence of an increasing real per capita income on the overall incidence of cancer. Using worldwide cross-sectional data for 162 countries, regression results with crude and age-standardised rates, allow us to measure the elasticity of cancer incidence with respect to per capita income, and to decompose the elasticity coefficient into two components: age-effect and lifestyle-effect. Finally, we try to develop a basic framework in order to explain how economic structural changes on the demand-side can affect the evolution of cancer incidence.

2008 - Aspetti controversi dell'analisi economica dell'inquinamento [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi degli aspetti controversi della teoria economica neoclassica dell'inquinamento

2008 - Crescita economica e dinamica strutturale [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi delle cause e della contabilità dello sviluppo e della dinamica strutturale, con particolare attenzione al settore agricolo.

2008 - Due teorie economcihe dell'inquinamento [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi critica del fenomeno dell'inquinamento all'interno del modello classico e del modello neoclassico

2008 - Introduzione alle teorie economiche dell'inquinamento [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; F., Messori
abstract

Introduzione critica all'analisi economica delle interazioni tra il sistema economico ed il sistema naturale

2008 - L'agricoltura nel processo di sviluppo [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; A., Segrè
abstract

Modello teorico dell'evoluzione del settore agricolo nel corso del processo di sviluppo e classificazione dinamica dei sistemi economici.

2008 - L'ambiente naturale come risorsa [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi delle risorse naturali nel modello marginalista

2008 - Patterns of technical change: a geometrical analysis using the wage-profit rate schedule [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

This study examines some stylized facts of economic growth according to the modern restatement of the classical theory of income distribution.

2008 - Una teoria dello sviluppo economico [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi del processo di sviluppo alla luce del modello neoclassico.

2007 - Evidence from a time-changed regulated agricultural market: the italian tobacco industry [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; D., Fantazzini
abstract

Alternatives econometric model of the italian tobacco industry

2007 - Tasse e standard nella politica ambientale [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Effetti micro-economici degli strumenti di politica ambientale utilizzati in agricoltura

2006 - Agricultural modelling: an econometric approach [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; D., Fantazzini
abstract

This study is an econometrics analysis of the italian tobacco industry

2006 - Leaves and cigarettes: modelling the tobacco industry [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

This study uses three quantitative approaches (econometric modelling, linear programming and input-output analysis) to examine the whole tobacco industry, with application to Italy and Greece.

2005 - Analisi degli aspetti economici degli usi alternativi del tabacco [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; V., Manelli
abstract

Analisi degli aspetti economici degli usi alternativi del tabacco

2003 - La curva ambientale di Kuznets in Italia [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi della EKC in Italia utilizzando un indicatore multidimensionale di qualità dell'ambiente.

2003 - Le produzioni zootecniche tra ambiente e mercato [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; Nasuelli, P. A.
abstract

Analisi degli strumenti di politica economica ambientale per il controllo dell'inquinamento da produzioni zootecniche

2003 - Tecniche di produzione ed inquinamento dell'ambiente [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi delle condizioni di equilibrio economico ed ambientale dell'impresa in condizioni di asimmetria dell'informazione

2002 - Effetti esterni negativi delle produzioni agricole [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; S., Morri
abstract

Analisi quantitativa del comportamento degli agenti economici rispetto all'adozione di nuove tecnologie per la riduzione dell'impatto ambientale delle produzioni agricole.

1999 - Il futuro della suinicoltura mediterranea [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; G., Zucchi
abstract

Analisi delle prospettive economiche della suinicoltura nei paesi del mediterraneo alla luce delle nuove linea di politica agraria comunitaria.

1999 - Obiettivi e metodologia della ricerca [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Metodologia di analisi quantitativa della filiera dell'agricoltura biologica.

1998 - A proposito della rendita della terra [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Sviluppo di una teoria neo-ricardiana della rendita della terra e critica della nozione di capitale fondiario.

1998 - Beni agricoli, beni alimentari e scambi internazionali nel modello del Di Cocco [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi del ruolo dell'agricoltura nel processo di sviluppo con l'estensione del modello all'economai aperta ed al settore agro-alimentare.

1998 - Produzioni agricole ed inquinamento dell'ambiente [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Critica delle fondamenta della teoria standard della politica ambientale in ambito rurale.

1998 - Una nota sulle fondamenta neoclassiche della teoria economica dell'inquinamento [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi critica della teoria neoclassica dell'inquinamento.

1997 - Aspetti economici della produzione di latte prodotto con metodo biologico [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; F., Ansaloni
abstract

Aspetti economici della produzione di latte prodotto con metodo biologico in Italia

1997 - Economia e politica dell'ambiente in una prospettiva classica [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Costruzione di un modello classico di analisi delle interazioni economia-ambiente.

1997 - Fattori di sviluppo dell'impresa familiare per la produzione di latte [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; F., Ansaloni
abstract

Analisi dei fattori economici e tecnologici di sviluppo dell'impresa familiare per la produzione di latte

1997 - L'impresa cooperativa nell'agro-alimentare. Un modello manageriale [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Un modello teorico di cooperativa sulla base della teoria manageriale dell'impresa

1997 - L'impresa cooperativa nell'agro-alimentare. Un modello manageriale. [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Costruzione di un modello di analisi del comportamento dell'impresa cooperativa alal luce della teoria manageriale dell'impresa.

1997 - Scambi intra-industriali nel settore agro-alimentare: osservazioni teoriche ed evidenza empirica [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi teorica e verifica empirica del commercio intra-industriale nel mercato europeo dei prodotti alimentari.

1997 - Sulle cause del vantaggio comparato in agricoltura [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Verifica quantitativa della relazione tra livello di sviluppo e vantaggio comparato in agricoltura

1997 - Un contributo allo studio dell'economia e della politica degli scandali nei mercati agro-alimentari [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Modello teorico di analisi positiva e normativa del funzionamento dei mercati agro-alimentari rispetto al problema della sicurezza alimentare.

1996 - Economia ed ambiente. Breve introduzione ad un modello neo-ricardiano. [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi delle interdipendenze economia-ambiente alla luce della moderna ripresa dell'impostazione classica.

1996 - Progresso tecnico ed occupazione in agricoltura. Un elementare approccio dinamico [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi quantitativa dinamica dell'occupazioen agricola in un modello di kaldor post-keynesiano

1996 - Progresso tecnico ed occupazione in agricoltura: un elementare approccio dinamico [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Approccio dinamico all'analisi quantitativa dell'evoluzione dell'occupazione in agricoltura alla luce del modello post-keynesiano di Kaldor dello sviluppo economico.

1995 - Caratteristiche di successo delle aziende familiari per la produzione di latte [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; F., Ansaloni
abstract

Analisi delle caratteristiche strutturali delle imprese zootecniche dell'Emilia-Romagna per la produzione di latte fresco.

1995 - Commercio intra-industriale nel mercato europeo dei prodotti lattiero-caseari [Capitolo/Saggio]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi del commercio intra-industriale nel mercato europeo dei prodotti lattiero-caseari

1995 - Identifying factors for dairy farm survival in Italy: a discriminant analysis [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio; F., Ansaloni
abstract

This study utilises the discriminant analysis in order to identify factors for dairy farm survival in Italy.

1994 - Sulla posizione di equilibrio della cooperativa agricola di trasformazione [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi neoclassica dell'equilibrio dell'impresa cooperativa di trasformazione.

1992 - Tendenze della produzione agricola e dei redditi: il caso dell'Emilia-Romagna [Articolo su rivista]
Ferretti, Fabrizio
abstract

Analisi quantitativa dell'evoluzione della ragione di scambio del settore agricolo della Regione Emilia-Romagna

Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

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