Using data on 1,176 Italian municipalities in 2005, this paper discusses a number of factors associated with the development of a particular type of innovative activities, namely e-government services supplied by local public administrations (PAs). We find that municipalities which got involved...

This paper examines the changing role of multinationals in the global generation, adoption and transfer of innovation. It is argued that the combination of traditional asset exploiting objectives with increasing asset seeking activities entails a transition of multinationals towards a double...

In this paper, we investigate the theoretical and empirical relevance of the distinction between generic goods and specific goods for the understanding of freight transport demand. Specific goods are Taylor-made for a single customer while generic goods are produced irrespective of the final...

Many episodes of extension of franchise in the 19th and especially in the 20th century occurred during or in the aftermath of major wars. Motivated by this fact, we offer a theory of political transitions which focuses on the impact of international conflicts on domestic political institutions....

The aim of this paper is to study the welfare e¤ects of consumer cooperatives in mixed oligopoly markets. We show that under decreasing returns to scale and su¢ ciently high market competition these …rms can contribute more to social welfare when acting on behalf of all consumers rather than...

IThe objective of the paper is that of providing a framework both for theoretical and empirical literature in order to describe and assess the main changes in location patterns for manufacturing industry in Europe in the last decades. The idea is that of investigating whether economic structures...

The idea that distance may hinder cross-border economic activities has a long tradition in both international trade and international business studies. And the need to consider distance as a multifaceted concept including both spatial and institutional features has also been increasingly...

After Europe’s long stagnation, a debate is emerging on how industrial capacity could be reconstructed. The paper reviews current EU policies and provides the rationale for a new industrial policy at the European level. Such public action could help address current macroeconomic, industrial,...

This paper focuses on the links between labor market institutions and offshoring, with specific reference to the role of codetermination in shaping the international operations of German firms. We use case studies to illustrate how works councils deal with three important aspects of offshoring...