This paper proposes a framework to analyze knowledge creation in traditional sectors and empirically test innovation probability and intensity in small and medium firms (SMEs). The underlying hypothesis is that human capital and networks favour ease of learning and promote absorptive capacity and knowledge, which in turn fosters innovation in SMEs in traditional sectors. The empirical evidence is based on an ad hoc survey of a representative sample of 462 manufacturing firms in a province in Southern Italy. A probit model is used to investigate the determinants of innovation while the intensity is analyzed with a Poisson regression. The results confirm that the human capital of entrepreneurs and workers as well as the networks inside the firm has a positive effect on innovation, and the firm’s production chain constitutes the most important external network in terms of knowledge and innovation

Addressing the volatility spillovers of agricultural commodities is important for at least two reasons. First, for the last several years, the volatility of agricultural commodity prices seems to have increased. Second, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, there is a strong need for understanding the potential (negative) impacts on food security caused by food commodity volatilities. This paper aims at investigating the presence, the size, and the persistence of volatility spillovers among five agricultural commodities (corn, sugar, wheat, soybean, and bioethanol) and five Latin American (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru) stock market indexes. Overall, when a negative shock hits the commodity market, Latin American stock market volatility tends to increase. This happens, for instance, for the relationships from corn to Chile and Colombia and from wheat to Peru and Chile.

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