The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it contributes to the long-running debate on the role of how uncertainty affects firms' investment decisions. Our results show that uncertainty is negatively correlated with investment. Secondly, it shows the desirability of a common European economic...

The paper analyzes the role of guarantees on loan interest rates before and during the recent financial crisis in Italian firm financing. The paper improves on existing literature by distinguishing between real and personal guarantees. Further, the paper investigates the potential different role...

Is small still beautiful? The recent economic and financial crisis has shown that developed countries in which firms are smaller suffered the biggest GDP plunges. Today, economic growth depends more than in the past on sound and well-organized firms, which means more innovation, a better...

Preface -- 1 SME and Entrepreneurship Policies After the Crisis -- 2 The Italian Small- and Medium-Sized Firms in the Aftermath of the Crisis: Is there a New Model? -- 3 Industrial Policy for SMEs Renewal: The Opportunity of Service Platforms -- 4 Product Inovation and Corporate Governance in...

Traditionally female entrepreneurs report difficulties or higher costs in accessing bank credit. These difficulties can be either the result of supply side discrimination, or the lower profitability of female-owned firms than male-owned ones. This paper aims at analyzing the access to credit of...

The global financial crisis, the weakening role of the dollar and the increasing importance of China in the global arena are calling for a reform of the international monetary system (IMS) in the direction of a greater multilateralism. We agree with the necessity to reform the IMS and we advance...

This paper presents two views of the European sovereign debt crisis. The first is that countries in the South of the Eurozone were fiscally irresponsible and failed to implement pro-competitive supply side policies. The second view holds that the crisis reflects a deep divide between the...