We revisit the evidence about firms' performance and their international status in a large sample of Italian enterprises. Three results stand out. First, firms engaging in foreign production of final goods, in addition to export activities, are more productivethan firms that only export abroad....

This paper analyses the choice of full versus shared ownership of the production affiliate made by Italian multinationals in Asia, based on an entirely new firm-level dataset, constructed by the author. The decision to internalise production, rather than relying on a local partner, is driven by...

The paper investigates the link between inward FDI and local development in Italy. The empirical analysis is based on a new firm-level dataset built by the author through survey interviews. A multiple-choice questionnaire was sent to all the multinational enterprises (MNE) members of the...

This paper provides original evidence about Chinese and Indian outward direct investment (ODI) in Italy. Firm-level data have been collected through survey interviews involving the whole population of Dragon and Elephant multinationals. With a response rate of 80%, we draw a detailed profile of...

This paper provides original evidence about Chinese Outward Direct Investments in Italy. Data have been collected at the micro level, through a multiple-choice questionnaire, designed by the author and submitted to the whole population of Dragon multinationals. With a response rate of 86%, we...

This paper provides new contract-level evidence on control rights allocation in order to define what makes a joint venture. Property rights theory of the firm identifies circumstances under which joint control alleviates investment distortions due to contract incompleteness. We compare...

This paper empirically analyses the boundaries of a large sample of Italian multinational enterprises, with firm-level data from Capitalia, AIDA and Centrale dei Bilanci. Within the broad array of feasible contracts in a foreign country, we focus on the trade-off between international...