This work provides an empirical assessment of the 'sophistication' of the Italian international specialization pattern and of its evolution during the period 1980 - 2000. In particular, we discuss the Italian 'anomaly', i.e. the evidence that Italy displays a specialization pattern more similar...

This work provides an empirical assessment of the 'sophistication' of the Italian international specialization pattern and of its evolution during the period 1980-2000. In particular we analyse the well-known Italian trade 'anomaly' combining the information coming from the PRODY index (Hausmann...

This work presents a comparative analysis of two crucial dimensions of firms performance: profitability and productivity. The characteristics of their empirical distribution and the associated degree of persistence over time are explored through a set of parametric and non-parametric exercises...

Diverse theories of industry dynamics predict heterogeneity in production efficiency to be the driver of firms' growth, survival, and industrial change, either through a direct link between efficiency and growth, or through an indirect effect via profitabilities, as more productive firms can...