Local industrial systems and the location of FDI in Italy

This article investigates the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI)location across Italian provinces. Specifically it examines the relationship between industry- specific local industrial systems and the location of inward FDI. This extends previous analysis beyond the mere density of activity, to illustrate the importance of the specific nature of agglomerations in attracting inward investment. The article develops a model of FDI location choice using a unique FDI database stratified by industry and province. The results also suggest that the importance of agglomeration differs between industries, and offers some explanation for this

Knowledge-based Development in Leading Regions across the Globe: An Exploratory Analysis of the co-Evolution of Resources, Capabilities and Outputs

It is widely observed that the global geography of innovation is rapidly evolving. This paper presents evidence concerning the contemporary evolution of the globe’s most productive regions. The paper uncovers the underlying structure and co-evolution of knowledge-based resources, capabilities and outputs across these regions. The analysis identifies two key trends by which the economic evolution and growth patterns of these regions are differentiated—namely, knowledge-based growth and labour market growth. The knowledge-based growth factor represents the underlying commonality found between the growth of economic output, earnings and a range of knowledge-based resources. The labour market growth factor represents the capability of regions to draw on their human capital. Overall, spectacular knowledge-based growth of leading Chinese regions is evident, highlighting a continued shift of knowledge-based resources to Asia. It is concluded that regional growth in knowledge production investment and the capacity to draw on regional human capital reserves are neither necessarily traded-off nor complementary to each other

The performance of foreign affiliates in German manufacturing: evidence from a new database

This study presents the first investigation into the performance of foreign - controlled enterprises in German manufacturing based on new micro - data from official statistics. A comprehensive set of performance variables was examined not only by comparing unconditional mean values but also by accounting for other determinants and differences across distributions. The analysis revealed a foreign ownership performance premium with regard to productivity, R&D and export intensities, and average wages. Only profitability did not seem to differ from German - owned enterprises. Results were verified by varying comparison groups of indigenous firms and separating for high- and low-tech sectors. Furthermore, a breakdown by country of origin and type of ownership showed considerable heterogeneity of foreign - controlled affiliates in Germany