Bootstrapping the Gini Index of the Network Degree: An Application for Italian Corporate Governance

Working Paper Series Department of Economics University of Verona, WP No. 5, June 2019

16 Pages Posted: 9 Oct 2019

See all articles by Carlo Drago

Carlo Drago

Università degli Studi "Niccolò Cusano"

Roberto Ricciuti

University of Verona - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Date Written: June 1, 2019

Abstract

We propose a new approach based on bootstrapping to compare complex networks. This is an important task when we wish to compare the effect of a (policy) shock on the structure of a network. The bootstrap test compares two values of the Gini index, and the test is performed on the difference between them. The application is based on the interlocking directorship network. At the director level, Italian corporate governance is characterized by the widespread occurrence of interlocking directorates. Article 36 of Law 214/2011 prohibited interlocking directorates in the financial sector. We compare the interlocking directorship networks in 2009 (before the reform) with 2012 (after the reform) and find evidence of an asymmetric effect of the reform on the network centrality of the different companies but no significant effects on Gini indices.

Keywords: Complex Networks, Gini Index, Bootstrap Method

JEL Classification: C13, G34

Suggested Citation

Drago, Carlo and Ricciuti, Roberto, Bootstrapping the Gini Index of the Network Degree: An Application for Italian Corporate Governance (June 1, 2019). Working Paper Series Department of Economics University of Verona, WP No. 5, June 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3461114 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3461114

Carlo Drago (Contact Author)

Università degli Studi "Niccolò Cusano" ( email )

Via Don Carlo Gnocchi, 3
Rome, 00166
Italy

Roberto Ricciuti

University of Verona - Department of Economics ( email )

Via dell'Artigliere, 8
37129 Verona
Italy

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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