Using a cross-country analysis, this paper examines the determinants of the Italian intra-industry trade in vertically differentiated products. By considering the degree of specialization by quality within industries, we found that Italys IIT in low-quality products is higher the lower the...

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) can generate positive externalities to host countries, increasing domestic firms' productivity. Recently, the attention of researchers has moved from the analysis of ''horizontal'' spillovers – i.e. those benefits to local...

This paper examines the determinants of Italian intra-industry trade in horizontally and vertically differentiated products, using a dataset which eliminates the effects linked to the hypothesis of homogeneity both between countries - when specific industry characteristics are analysed - and...

The aim of the analysis is to investigate the impact of inward FDI on Italian manufacturing and services firm survival. The paper is organized in two steps. First, we carry out theoretically and empirically the analysis of firm survival distinguishing between foreign multinationals, domestic...

The absorptive capacity represents the ability of enterprises to efficiently absorb and internalise knowledge from outside: it represents the link between firms' capabilities to implement new products and the external stock of technological opportunities, such as those spilled-out from...