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Sara CARIA

Assegnista di ricerca
Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia
Docente a contratto
Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia

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Pubblicazioni

2025 - A Paradigm Shift in International Cooperation? China and Europe: A Political Economy Perspective from Latin America [Capitolo/Saggio]
Vadell, Javier; Caria, Sara
abstract

A dramatic global transformation in international politics, economics, and security is disrupting the conventional power structure of the US-led international order. The rise of China, the COVID-19 pandemic, the US failure in Afghanistan, and the Russian-Ukrainian war are some of the events that accelerate this trend. To understand this transformation, a paradigm shift is needed. Drawing on Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm concept, this chapter aims to delve into China’s cooperation approach and its challenge to the Euro-American, OECD-based aid regime. Specifically, it explores the type of South-South cooperation engaged by China, promoting and expanding its ambitious projection in LAC countries, investments, loans, commercial initiatives, and assistance. Chinese engagement in international cooperation dates back to the 1950s and it boosted following the economic growth and global expansion of the last decades. We argue that Chinese South-South paradigm has appealing characteristics for LAC partners, proving to be functional, flexible, multidimensional, and holistic, thus posing a challenge to traditional DAC donors. COVID-19 pandemic was emblematic: while China accelerated the rapprochement to LAC partners (governmental and non-governmental), the EU largely neglected the region, concentrating on the effectiveness of its domestic response to the emergency.

2025 - L’industria automotive in Emilia-Romagna [Capitolo/Saggio]
Gentilini, Francesco; Leonelli, Laura; Moro, Angelo; Rinaldini, Matteo; Dorigatti, Lisa; Caria, Sara; Capitani, Eugenio
abstract

Il presente capitolo tenterà, in primis, di perimetrare e descrivere il settore automotive emiliano-romagnolo, individuandone le caratteristiche distintive e analizzandone la struttura occupazionale. In secondo luogo, verranno approfonditi gli elementi di tensione e le principali sfide poste dalla doppia transizione al comparto regionale, valutandone l’impatto differenziato tra i vari segmenti che lo compongono, nonché i possibili spazi di protagonismo che si aprono per le istituzioni regionali e per il sistema delle relazioni industriali

2025 - The Contribution of the Social and Solidarity Economy to Economic Growth [Articolo su rivista]
Salustri, Andrea; Caria, Sara; Sacchetti, Silvia; Montefusco, Eugenio; De Pretis, Francesco
abstract

This work extends the basic analytical framework of macroeconomic growth to encompass the notion of social inclusion and to reduce the inconsistencies between growth and development. Specifically, we introduce the social and solidarity economy (SSE) into the macroeconomic debate on economic growth to acknowledge and making visible its contribution to total output increase, while working towards greater inclusion. Our analytical strategy relies on the discussion of four theoretical models. First, we illustrate a modified version of the Solow model; second, we introduce social inclusion as a labour-augmenting factor, and we illustrate how it triggers endogenous growth. Third, we modify a simplified model of endogenous growth by introducing among the arguments of the production function social inclusion as a labour-augmenting factor and by replacing the R&D with the SSE production function. Fourth, we introduce an encompassing growth model to identify the optimal mix of social inclusion and technological progress that may support endogenous growth. The added value of our research is twofold: (1) we lay the foundations for an alternative pattern of development that may fit well the initial conditions of a low resource economy lacking endogenous technological progress, and (2) we propose a logical framework to identify a continuum of trajectories of development, that is coherent with the diversity of initial conditions observed at country level.

2025 - Variegated digitalisation Comparing digital trajectories in two I4.0 manufactures in Northern Italy [Articolo su rivista]
Rinaldini, Matteo; Garibaldo, Francesco; Caria, Sara
abstract

This paper explores empirically the digital trajectories implemented by two German owned manufacture plants in Northern Italy Both firms, global leaders sports cars and high-tech room air conditioners, respectively, are inspired by lean principles and the I4 0 paradigm, but characterized by different industrial relations, business models, type of product and broader industrial environment Results suggest that, while a predominance of digital shadow can be found in both cases, the reasons leading to that outcome differ sensibly: in one case participation of unions to decision making processes seems to be a key element; in the other, the degree of automatization is constrained by production volumes and product type These findings make the case for a “varieties of digitalisation” argument, where digital trajectories are not determined by the technological potential of innovations, but can be seen as the outcome of different dynamic and polymorphic “variegated” process, involving different sets of rationales.

2025 - ‘Digital shadow' or ‘digital twin'? Evidence on digital approaches, working condition and organisational changes from two I4.0 lean production manufacturing [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara; Rinaldini, Matteo
abstract

The debate on digitalisation and changes in manufacturing has focused on the digital ‘twin/digital shadow’ dichotomy, two approaches to digital technology implementation. At the same time, the literature has paid great attention to the integration between the Industry 4.0 paradigm and lean production as well as to the different outcomes of such integration in terms of ‘augmented lean’, ‘distorted lean’ and ‘lean trap’. This paper analyses the approaches to digitalisation adopted by two German-owned manufacturing firms in Northern Italy that have implemented lean production, focusing on the factors behind this adoption and the potential consequences on working conditions and organisation. The two companies are leaders in their respective sectors (sports cars and high-tech air conditioners), are inspired by lean principles and adhere to the I4.0 paradigm, to which the literature tends to refer the digital twin approach; however, the results show that in both cases a digital shadow approach predominates, even if the factors underlying this choice appear to be different. The research highlights how the implementation of a ‘digital shadow’ approach, while reducing the risks of technology substitution of jobs, can have critical implications on working conditions and, above all, can lead to a ‘lean trap’ by limiting the innovation potential of new technologies, while jeopardising the sustainability of lean itself.

2024 - GESTIONE DECENTRATA DELLA COOPERAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE IN ECUADOR: ANALISI DELLE CARATTERISTICHE E TENDENZE [Capitolo/Saggio]
Giunta, Isabella; Caria, Sara; Yepez, Jorge
abstract

Negli ultimi decenni è incrementato il protagonismo dei governi locali nel sistema internazionale e in alcuni paesi del Sud globale sono stati attuati processi di decentralizzazione della gestione della cooperazione internazionale in ogni sua forma (bilaterale, multilaterale e non governativa), al di là di quella specifica tra governi locali. Si tratta dunque non esclusivamente di cooperazione decentrata, ma di gestione decentrata della cooperazione internazionale. È il caso dell’Ecuador dove dal 2008 è stato progressivamente istituzionalizzato un maggiore protagonismo dei governi locali, che potrebbe favorire il radicamento nei territori delle iniziative promosse, meccanismi di partecipazione sociale e una crescente adesione alle priorità di sviluppo e alle capacità locali. Tuttavia, la gestione è stata trasferita senza risorse finanziarie e in maniera omogenea alle diverse scale territoriali, senza considerare le asimmetrie in termini di capacità e risorse. Il lavoro presenta uno studio quali-quantitativo sulla gestione decentrata della cooperazione internazionale da parte dei governi locali dell’Ecuador e sulle tendenze in termini di attori, modalità e settori di intervento.

2024 - L'orientamento diasporico dei neolaureati e delle neolaureate expat. Analisi delle evidenze e spunti di policy [Capitolo/Saggio]
Tomei, Gabriele; Caria, Sara
abstract

2024 - La produzione nell’era digitale: nuove sfide per organizzazione, lavoro e competenze [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara; Rinaldini, Matteo; Garibaldo, Francesco
abstract

Digitalisation has significant impacts on the traditional configuration of the production process as a set of functions that follow a sequential order, whereas the different business units are called upon to respond to quantitatively greater and qualitatively different demands than in the past. The aim of this work is to analyse, through a case study conducted by means of interviews and field visits, the functional reconfiguration induced by digitisation and its consequences on working conditions and the new skills required of workers. The focus of the research is the production department, where the consequences of technological and organisational transformations emerge with particular force. This analysis is complemented with a reflection on the innovations contained in the 2021 national collective bargaining agreement for metalworkers, to understand the way in which this reform is aligned to the transformations taking place and what critical issues arise

2024 - Labour Market Fragmentation and Gender Inequalities: A Warning for Deindustrializing Countries, like Italy, from the Case of Ecuador [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara; Rinaldini, Matteo; Yepez, Jorge
abstract

The study explores the interconnections of precarious work, gender discrimination, and vulnerability as mutually reinforcing phenomena. To illustrate this connection, we examine the significant case of Ecuador, where the interplay between the prevalence of unregulated jobs, precarious employment, and gender inequalities is particularly evident. We estimate the gender wage gap in Ecuador over the past decade and a half through various working conditions (formal/informal, full employment/underemployment, short-term/long-term, with/without tenure) and personal characteristics of workers (education level, age, presence of children). The findings reveal: a) a persistent gender pay gap, with significant heterogeneity across the different dimensions considered; b) minimal reduction in the earnings disparity between men and women over time; c) an increase in wage inequality among workers exposed to precarious and unregulated jobs. These results highlight the need to address the other side of labour market fragmentation: its connection to greater gender inequalities. They also sound an alarm about the consequences of progressive labour market fragmentation on gender inequality, especially in semiperipheral developed countries facing deindustrialization. In parts of Europe, long-term economic stagnation and the loss of qualified employment are becoming structural issues, presenting challenges similar to those in middle-income peripheral countries. Italy exemplifies these countries, having progressively lost significant portions of its industrial base while pursuing cost-competitiveness strategies and increasing labour market liberalization. In this context, our findings raise a warning about the consequences of labour market fragmentation on gender inequality, a critical issue for Italy. The results advocate for active policies aimed not only at mitigating the negative effects of traditional gender divisions in the family but also at improving labour law enforcement, reducing job precarity, and decreasing worker turnover.

2024 - The intersection between traditional roles and a fragmented labor market: a propensity score matching analysis of gender wage gap in Ecuador [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, S.; Yepez, J.
abstract

Abstract Purpose – This study aims at estimating the gender wage gap in Ecuador, and its evolution over the last decade and a half, exploring its heterogeneity through different working conditions (formal/informal, full employment/underemployment, short term/long term and tenure/no tenure) and workers personal characteristics (education level; age and children). Design/methodology/approach – Propensity score matching (PSM) and coarsened exact matching (CEM) are used to examine the gender pay inequality of wage earners in Ecuador, using the National Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment Survey (ENEMDU) data set from 2007 to 2022. Findings – Results show a persistent gender pay gap, evidencing a significant heterogeneity through the different dimensions taken into account, in terms of working conditions and workers personal characteristics. The evolution of the pay gap during the years analyzed hardly shows any reduction of differences in earnings between men and women; on the contrary, women exposure to precarious and unregulated jobs seems to be increasing wage inequality. Practical implications – The results make the case for active policies oriented not only at containing the negative effects of the traditional division of labor within the family but also at improving labor law enforcement, mitigating informality and workers rapid turnover. Originality/value – This study is one of the few that use matching techniques to study the gender wage gap and the first in Ecuador; the time span taken into account is larger than previous studies, allowing a mediumlong run perspective across different economic phases

2024 - Un lavoro remoto di qualità: condizioni e organizzazione [Articolo su rivista]
della Ratta-Rinaldi, F.; Caria, S.; Rinaldini, M.
abstract

Obiettivo del contributo è avanzare alcune ipotesi interpretative dei diversi atteggiamenti che i lavoratori manifestano rispetto al lavoro remoto. Utilizzando i dati Inapp della V Indagine sulla Qualità del lavoro (QdL) del 2021, che consentono di analizzare approfonditamente le caratteristiche dei lavoratori coinvolti o meno nel lavoro remoto, si esplora il rapporto tra lavoro remoto, tecnologie utilizzate, condizioni di lavoro e alcuni aspetti organizzativi dell’attività lavorativa, facendo riferimento al paradigma multidimensionale e multidisciplinare della qualità del lavoro.

2023 - Políticas industriales andinas durante el auge de materias primas. ¿Estados desarrollistas o rentistas? [Articolo su rivista]
de la Cruz, Fernando; Caria, Sara
abstract

El inicio del siglo xxi ofreció dos experimentos destacados en materia de políticas industriales en América Latina: la Bolivia de Evo Morales y el Ecuador de Rafael Correa. Este trabajo realiza un análisis comparado de ambas experiencias a través de la puesta en relación de sus modelos de inserción internacional y de sus efectos sobre el marco institucional encargado de desplegar las políticas industriales. El trabajo concluye que el patrón de inserción internacional de estos países presenta un sesgo hacia la “maldición de los recursos”, inhibiendo la creación de instituciones y políticas industriales genuinamente orientadas a la promoción de la productividad y la competitividad internacional, y fomentando comportamientos rentistas en el sector público.

2023 - Shadowing Industry 4.0: an empirical study of digitalisation in a German/Italian automotive firm [Articolo su rivista]
Rinaldini, Matteo; Caria, Sara; Garibaldo, Francesco
abstract

2022 - Cooperation Regimes and Hegemonic Struggle: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing Countries [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara
abstract

There is an increasing convergence in the international relations literature around the idea that changes in the world econ‐ omy during the last decades are reshaping the international order; although the outcome of such a reconfiguration is yet unclear, many scholars argue that a dispute over global hegemony is already underway. At the same time, drawing on realist and neorealist approaches, international cooperation can be seen as a means to gain legitimacy and tighten alliances. In this framework, this article analyses three cooperation regimes as terrains of dispute to expand—or maintain—international leadership. The first, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda, reflects mainly the attempt to maintain the legit‐ imacy of the United Nations system and the multilateral institutions that make up the traditional cooperation regime. This framework still responds to Western interests, despite China’s efforts to contest and contain US influence. The second, South–South Cooperation, wrapped up in the rhetoric of horizontality and common challenges, is the privileged terrain of middle powers and emerging countries, aiming at increasing regional influence. Finally, the third scheme, International Cooperation for Structural Transformation, is China’s new development doctrine and the fulcrum of its struggle to pro‐ mote itself as a successful new model for global development. In my conclusions I reflect on the opportunities that the co‐existence of different regimes offers for developing countries, as well as the challenges that they continue to face in their search for autonomous development paths.

2022 - I Nuovi Equilibri della Cooperazione Internazionale: Politiche, Partenariati e Saperi oltre l’Asse Nord-Sud [Articolo su rivista]
Bini, Valerio; Caria, Sara; Giunta, Isabella
abstract

La sessione “I nuovi equilibri della cooperazione internazionale: politiche, partenariati e saperi oltre l’asse Nord-Sud”, tenutasi nella seconda giornata del VII Congresso Cucs, ha permesso un nutrito dialogo tra studiosi e studiose afferenti a università italiane e straniere, oltre che con rappresentanti di Ong. Questo testo è l’introduzione in tre sezioni dei contributi raccolti. La prima presenta gli obiettivi che hanno animato il dibattito, la seconda introduce tre interventi focalizzati su alcune delle trasformazioni in atto nel sistema della cooperazione internazionale (governance globale dell’agricoltura, dinamiche della cooperazione cinese e sfide in agenda a fronte degli squilibri globali e locali), mentre la terza evidenzia alcune questioni al centro del dibattito sulla cooperazione.

2020 - COVID-19 in Latin America: the pandemic’s impact on an already fragile and unequal economy [Altro]
Caria, Sara
abstract

2020 - Cooperación internacional, nuevos actores e instrumentos: perspectivas contemporáneas [Curatela]
Caria, Sara; Giunta, Isabella
abstract

2020 - Ecuador [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caria, Sara
abstract

2020 - Epílogo: desafíos de las políticas de desarrollo y cooperación internacional [Prefazione o Postfazione]
Caria, Sara
abstract

2020 - Introducción [Breve Introduzione]
Caria, Sara; Giunta, Isabella
abstract

2020 - La encrucijada del sistema productivo en la crisis del 2020 [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caria, Sara
abstract

2020 - Las agendas de cooperación internacional como instrumento de promoción internacional: perspectivas para América Latina [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caria, Sara
abstract

2020 - Pasado y presente de la cooperación internacional: una perspectiva crítica desde las teorías del sistema mundo [Curatela]
Caria, Sara; Giunta, Isabella
abstract

2019 - La economía ecuatoriana en la encrucijada: balance de una década polémica, 2007-2017 [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Caria, Sara; Orbe León, Jorge
abstract

2019 - Neoestructuralismo, regionalismo abierto y problemas ambientales: lecciones para el nuevo TLCAN [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caria, Sara; Domínguez Martín, Rafael
abstract

2019 - Perfil economico productivo de Ecuador: Trayectorias históricas, desafíos y oportunidades para la trasformación de la matriz productiva en formas social y ambientalmente sostenibles [Working paper]
Caria, Sara
abstract

2019 - Postdevelopment’s forgotten ‘other roots’ in the Spanish and Latin American history of development thought [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caria, Sara; Domìnguez Martìn, Rafael
abstract

2018 - Especialización primario-exportadora y cabo estructural en Ecuador [Monografia/Trattato scientifico]
Caria, Sara
abstract

2018 - Raíces latinoamericanas del otro desarrollo: estilos de desarrollo
 y desarrollo a escala humana [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara; Domínguez, Rafael
abstract

2017 - Buen Vivir: Praise, instrumentalization, and reproductive pathways of good living in Ecuador [Articolo su rivista]
Dominguez, R.; Caria, S.; Leon, M.
abstract

In this article, we trace the avatars of the official concept of Buen Vivir (Good Living), and its understanding and translation as Sumak Kausay in the new Constitution of Ecuador, where it was converted from a subaltern concept that emerged in the 1990s to the country’s trademark. Our main hypothesis is that although Buen Vivir may be described as a social phenomenon in some specific social contexts (such as among Amazonian Sarayaku indigenous communities), it mostly represents an invented tradition. As a subordinate hypothesis, we argue that Buen Vivir, which originally appeared at the margins of the State and political power, later became an empty signifier, allowing for its instrumentalization and co-optation by the Citizens’ Revolution and generating an opening for future prospects in the way of operationalization and internationalization that converged with efforts to promote alternative measures and notions of development to the GDP.

2017 - Can the Monkeys Leave the Export Processing Zones? Exploring the Maquiladora Bias in the Economic Complexity Index in Latin America [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara; Troyano, Miguel Carrera; Martín, Rafael Domínguez
abstract

2017 - Extrae que algo queda. Extractivismos andinos en el auge y caída de los commodities (2006-2016)”, [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Caria, Sara; Domínguez Martín, Rafael
abstract

2017 - Oil in Ecuador, 2000-2015: Curse, blessing or just a resource? [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, S.
abstract

Oil has been Ecuadors most important export product since the 70s; the current low prices of commodities have placed the need of a productive diversification in the center of the debate about development strategies. In this paper, it is aimed at establishing whether the dependence on oils exports has been an obstacle for the diversification of Ecuadorian economy during the recent commodities boom (2003-2014), as the «product trap» thesis suggests. For this purpose, a survey on the literature about the so called «resources curse» will be made in order to identify the main rationales that support this thesis and the policy recommendations that literature on this topic suggests to oil-rich countries. Then, the Ecuadorian case will be analyzed to search evidence that confirm the existence of an «oil curse» in Ecuador. The results show that oil dependence and low diversification are empirically associated, but no clear causal relation can be established between them.

2016 - Cambio de la matriz productiva y estructura exportadora [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caria, Sara
abstract

2016 - ECUADOR IN THE MIDDLE-INCOME TRAP [Articolo su rivista]
Dominguez, R.; Caria, S.
abstract

The middle income trap (MIT) alludes to the challenges that middle income countries face in converging with developed nations, due to their inability to complete the productive transition from low value-added sectors (commodities and natural resource- and labor-intensive manufactured goods) to high value-added sectors (technology-intensive manufactured goods). The objective of this paper is to evaluate the causes behind the MIT in which Ecuador has been entrenched for the past 60 years and the country's prospects for emerging from this trap, analyzing official development strategies and the conditions that the emerging literature about the MIT (which connects with the theory of the developmentalist State and its problematic exportation to the Latin America region) has found are needed for countries that export just a few commodities to make strides forward in development.

2016 - Ecuador’s Buen vivir: A New Ideology for Development [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara; Domìnguez, Rafael
abstract

2016 - Extractivismos andinos y limitantes del cambio estructural [Capitolo/Saggio]
Caria, Sara; Domínguez Martín, Rafael
abstract

2015 - Estructura productiva primario-exportadora y Buen vivir 2009-2014 [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara; Dominguez Martin, Rafael
abstract

2014 - El porvenir de una ilusión: la ideología del Buen Vivir [Articolo su rivista]
Caria, Sara; Domínguez Martín, Rafael
abstract