In this paper we analyse the dynamics of trade patterns in the six largest industrialised countries and in eight fast growing Asian economies. For each of these countries we study the shape of the sectoral distribution of an index of trade specialisation and its evolution over time. Our analysis...

This paper looks at some aspect of globalisation. After a discussion on its definition, the first part highlights historical evolution of globalisation in its major components (trade flows, foreign direct investments, portfolio movements and migration). The evidence shows that (1) globalisation...

This paper presents descriptive evidence on the role of industrial districts in Italian exports. Recent data released by ISTAT allow to identify exports at the level of single industrial district. The paper first presents synthetically the main features of the Italian pattern of international...

In this paper we focus on the post Bretton Woods period and analyze whether a PPP relationship is accepted by the data for Italy, United States and Germany. We adopt a multivariate system approach in which, initially, we test for cointegration and then we try to identify a cointegration space in...

In this paper we address the Rogoff's (1996) puzzle on the exchange rate excess volatility and the slow convergence to PPP. We argue that the evidence in favour of the latter stylised fact could be biased by the adoption of unreliable measures of the speed of convergence. In fact, adopting...

The paper presents the preliminary results of a research project on the relationship between technological and trade performance with a special focus on Switzerland. The analysis is based on two sources of data: a dataset based on patent applications by firms from major industrialized countries...

The failure of the WTO Ministerial Conference last December in Seattle was due to the unsettled network of conflicting interests of the member countries. What happened in the street of Seattle has not determined the outcome of the meeting. However, it would be a mistake to downplay the political...