We analyse the geographic localization and the productivity of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in Italy, using both census data and balance-sheet data at the firm level. We find that KIBS are generally agglomerated in urban areas where they attain significantly higher labour...

The paper estimates the effects of organized crime on FDI inflows in 103 Italian provinces in the period 2004-06. The presence of organized crime at a provincial level is quantified through several indicators, based on data for different kinds of crimes: extortion; association for criminal...

The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of crime on FDI inflows in 103 Italian provinces. The incidence of criminality is measured through the number of complaints for different kinds of crime. The analysis has been conducted using different estimation methods for panel data. The...

This study examined the distribution of new firm formation in New England from 1999 through 2009. Using discrete entropy and entropy decomposition, it was found that single-unit firm births are spatially dispersed. The distributional patterns do not vary substantially across the study period....

Using a matched employer-employee database for Italy we look at the spatial distribution of wages across provinces. This rich database allows us to contribute at opening the black box of agglomeration economies exploiting the micro dimension of the interaction among economic agents, both...

This paper studies FDI location determinants in Italy. FDI measures are the frequencies of acquisitions and greenfield investments per province and sector, so count data models are applied. The results show that the location determinants strongly differ according to the type of investment...

This study suggests a model for the agglomerative behaviour of MNEs with local competitors. Relying on foreign MNEs’ spatial distribution across 686 Italian Local Labor Systems, we find that MNEs’ locational behaviour is influenced by (i) informational externalities, giving rise to...

We investigate the link between migration and inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in narrow geographies and adopt a novel econometric strategy to shed light on the underlying mechanism. We estimate mixed logit models to explain the location choice of 1,113 greenfield investments made by 895...

This paper investigates the existing Italian regulation regarding the so-called "administration by agreements" and the possibility to adapt the existing legal system to voluntary agreements in the environmental field in the light of the European guidelines on this issue. The research consists of...

The pro-active stance taken by the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) on the application of competition rules to the rail sector was instrumental in ensuring the effectiveness of liberalization measures. In particular, the ICA relied on commitment decisions to close investigations against the...