Italian FDI integration with Southeast Europe: country and firm-level evidence

Southeast European countries have experienced significant economic integration into the world economy since 2000, through international capital flows and especially foreign direct investment (FDI). The present work sheds light on recent trends in Italy-Western Balkans economic integration through FDI. The methodology is based on a country level analysis and on case studies, designed to ascertain Italian firms’ underlying motives for investment in the area. Evidence suggests that the phenomenon is broader than official statistics would indicate: Italian firms often set up subsidiaries without formal or direct capital control. As integration in the area is a recent phenomenon, it is not surprising that the main determinants of Italian investments are cost reductions and new market opportunities, typical of initial stages of penetration in a foreign country. What is interesting in this context is that local entrepreneurs regard efficiency-seeking investments as profitable only if they are connected to market-seeking goals. We find evidence also of localized industrial development stimulated by the entry of Italian firms which is activating subcontracting relationships with existing firms in the host region.Southeast Europe-Italy integration,case study,foreign direct investment

Italian economic diplomacy at work: catching up the BRICs

The paper is a preliminary attempt to analyze the recent effort of the Italian diplomacy to develop a coherent trade policy toward the most important emerging markets. It describes why in recent years Italy has substantially modified the way it trades policy approach, moving from a decentralized to a centralized decision-making approach, the results achieved up to now, and the lingering challenges.BRIC,FDI,Italian economic diplomacy,trade

The international expansion of Russian enterprises. Looking at Italiantargets

Investment activity by Russian enterprises is a relatively recent phenomenon that is meeting with mounting interest among analysts and researchers, as has occurred for the other emerging economies. Brazil, Russia, India and China - the so-called "BRIC" nations - are affirming themselves at the international level for their ability to invest considerable resources in both developing countries and industrialized economies (Sauvant, 2005; 2008; Ramamurti R., Singh, 2009; Goldstein, 2009). For these nations, foreign direct investment (FDI) represents a fundamental means of achieving economic growth as well as political affirmation at the global level. FDI allows highly accelerated, and often unbalanced, growth processes to be adjusted at the national level. At the same time, individual enterprises, particularly through acquisitions, enjoy access to energy sources and commodities, advanced technologies, brands, skills, know-how and distribution channels to be used to expand and conquer new markets, including in the West (Sauvant, 2005; Spigarelli, 2009). Some aspects make the case of Russia wholly dissimilar to the experiences of the other BRIC nations (Panibratov, Kalotay, 2009). Investors are limited in number and belong to large groups that are either state-owned or the result of privatization after the fall of the Empire. Each transaction involves enormous financial resources. In addition, the main area of interest is the primary sector, and specifically oil, natural gas, metallurgy and electricity (Kalotay, 2008). This paper aims to analyze the primary characteristics of the phenomenon, with a specific focus on the Italian scenario. The goal is to investigate the intensity of Russian FDI, the main players and the underlying motivations. The work is part of a larger research project aimed at comparing the investment activity of BRIC nations in the West and identifying their distinctive traits so as to arrive at a possible key to interpreting the phenomenon in the context of international investment theory (Buckley, 2002) and to understand its consequences in the fields of economics and industrial policy (Spigarelli, 2009). As mentioned above, special attention is devoted to the Italian economy : the passive internationalization generated by emerging economies creates interesting research opportunities and raises questions, some of which relate to the possible impact on its avenues of development, the ongoing transformation of industrial districts and the processes of reconfiguring knowledge and allocating value at the local level. This study represents an initial exploratory analysis of the case of Russia that aims to answer several questions that in turn ought to provide further stimulus for research activity: what are the aspects, critical issues and prospects currently associated with the investment flows and transactions undertaken by Russian enterprises at the global level? As compared to global trends, do the initiatives in Italy show any peculiarities in terms of the sectors involved, the underlying motivations and the modes of entry? Is their impact on the Italian economy relevant, particularly in prospective terms, and in which sectors is it most critical? The methodology of analysis employed is of the descriptive type owing to the limited availability of up-to-date, reliable data series. The foreign investment phenomenon is new and statistical surveying systems have only recently been revamped by the Federation. Accordingly, sophisticated, broad analyses are not possible. The first part of the study places Russian investment activity in the context of foreign direct investment theories. The second part initially examines the main channels of Russian FDI at the global level through a review of both flow and stock figures and the most significant greenfield and non-greenfield transactions undertaken. In addition, the strategic goals pursued by Federation operators are then analyzed. Finally, the paper discusses the Italian scenario, commenting on FDI trends at the sector and regional level, followed by an examination of specific cases of investment through the acquisition or incorporation of new business assets. The analysis ends with some general considerations

CHINESE INVESTMENTS IN ITALY: IS THE WAVE ARRIVING?

The paper focuses on the effects of the Go Global policy in Italy: main type of Chinese investments, their strategic motivations, as well as the role of ethnic network are analyzed. The phenomenon is still not significant in quantitative terms, but trends are impressive. Italy can provide an access to western markets and strategic logistic services, as well as to a wide array of distinctive skills/intangible assets in manufacturing industries. At the moment, there is a prevalence of greenfield initiatives, but acquisitions are rising sharply. In geographical terms, the locations chosen by Chinese investors favor areas that offer a wealth of distinctive skills (typically, but not only, district areas), but are not limited to industries in which Chinese ethnic groups are involve

Submicrometer particles separation in acoustofluidic devices

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

THE INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION OF RUSSIAN ENTERPRISES. LOOKING AT ITALIAN TARGETS

Investment activity by Russian enterprises is a relatively recent phenomenon that is meeting with mounting interest among analysts and researchers, as has occurred for the other emerging economies. Brazil, Russia, India and China - the so-called "BRIC" nations - are affirming themselves at the international level for their ability to invest considerable resources in both developing countries and industrialized economies (Sauvant, 2005; 2008; Ramamurti R., Singh, 2009; Goldstein, 2009). For these nations, foreign direct investment (FDI)115 represents a fundamental means of achieving economic growth as well as political affirmation at the global level. FDI allows highly accelerated, and often unbalanced, growth processes to be adjusted at the national level. At the same time, individual enterprises, particularly through acquisitions, enjoy access to energy sources and commodities, advanced technologies, brands, skills, know-how and distribution channels to be used to expand and conquer new markets, including in the West (Sauvant, 2005; Spigarelli, 2009)

A Novel Approach to Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

The novel approach to carbon capture and storage (CCS) described in this dissertation is a significant departure from the conventional approach to CCS. The novel approach uses a sodium carbonate solution to first capture CO2 from post combustion flue gas streams. The captured CO2 is then reacted with an alkaline industrial waste material, at ambient conditions, to regenerate the carbonate solution and permanently store the CO2 in the form of an added value carbonate mineral. Conventional CCS makes use of a hazardous amine solution for CO2 capture, a costly thermal regeneration stage, and the underground storage of supercritical CO2. The objective of the present dissertation was to examine each individual stage (capture and storage) of the proposed approach to CCS. Study of the capture stage found that a 2% w/w sodium carbonate solution was optimal for CO2 absorption in the present system. The 2% solution yielded the best tradeoff between the CO2 absorption rate and the CO2 absorption capacity of the solutions tested. Examination of CO2 absorption in the presence of flue gas impurities (NOx and SOx) found that carbonate solutions possess a significant advantage over amine solutions, that they could be used for multi-pollutant capture. All the NOx and SOx fed to the carbonate solution was able to be captured. Optimization studies found that it was possible to increase the absorption rate of CO2 into the carbonate solution by adding a surfactant to the solution to chemically alter the gas bubble size. The absorption rate of CO2 was increased by as much as 14%. Three coal combustion fly ash materials were chosen as the alkaline industrial waste materials to study the storage CO2 and regeneration the absorbent. X-ray diffraction analysis on reacted fly ash samples confirmed that the captured CO2 reacts with the fly ash materials to form a carbonate mineral, specifically calcite. Studies found that after a five day reaction time, 75% utilization of the waste material for CO2 storage could be achieved, while regenerating the absorbent. The regenerated absorbent exhibited a nearly identical CO2 absorption capacity and CO2 absorption rate as a fresh Na2CO3 solution