Using a unique dataset based on the Bank of Italy's organizational survey, we find that – after having controlled for bank size – loan officers' authority has a key role in explaining bank specialization in small business lending. In particular, banks that delegate more decision-making power...

Using data from the Italian Survey on Household Income and Wealth from 1995 to 2014, we study the relation between informal credit (loans from relatives and friends) and a household's access to bank credit. While most of the literature has focused on the substitutability channel, we highlight...

Italian Abstract: Nell'ambito della propria attività di procurement la Banca Mondiale eroga annualmente tra i 20 e i 40 miliardi di dollari di nuovi prestiti, la metà dei quali destinati al finanziamento di infrastrutture. Si tratta di un mercato nel quale le imprese italiane hanno conseguito...

The paper surveys the literature on the measurement of innovation activity and evaluates the position of Italy with respect to the other major European countries. Innovation has been measured from different perspectives: the environment in which firms operate, firms' commitment, its outcome....