Producing abroad while making profits at home:Veneto footwear and clothing industry

Over the last twenty years globalisation has brought about a sharp increase in the real and financial integration of the worldwide economy. In this closely knit context, the outsourcing of some of the productive and trade activities abroad has become one of the focal points of the policies followed by businesses in order to handle competition at worldwide level. In the 80s Italian clothing and footwear firms faced the increased competition in the international markets by outsourcing to domestic subcontractors and in the 90s transferred much of the previous outsourcing abroad, in countries with low labour costs, mainly in Eastern Europe, North Africa and East Asia. This paper is aimed to assess the impact of the offshoring strategy on firms. performance. It is based on a survey delivered to a group of 70 final producers, operating in the Veneto, that during the 90s began to manage production on a global scale. Direct investments, subcontracting and partnerships that materialize in product manufacturing abroad are considered as forms of international outsourcing. On this basis, by combining direct observations with balance sheets data, and data on employment stock at the firm’s level, the impact of the offshoring decision is evaluated. The study shows the importance of production management along the global value chain in giving new competitivity to the Veneto traditional sector.production organization, global value chains, fragmentation, internationalization, clothing industry, Italy

Labor market intermediaries make the world smaller

This paper uses network analysis to study how employment intermediaries have influenced inter-firm worker mobility in a region of Italy, in response to a 1997 reform that introduced temporary employment agencies. Worker reallocations from a matched employer-employee dataset are mapped onto a directed graph where the vertices are firms and the links denote transfers of workers between firms. Temporary employment agencies significantly improve network integration and practicability, while rapidly increasing the control over mobility channels. The trade off inherent in intermediation activity is captured and discussed. The potential of network analysis as tool for monitoring regional labor markets is highlighted.JRC.J.2-Knowledge for Growt

Exploring the complex structure of labour mobility networks. Evidence from Veneto microdata

This essay investigates the network structure of inter-firm worker mobility in Veneto, an industrial region of Northern Italy, using comprehensive employer-employee matched data. The empirical network reveals a small world pattern that hinges critically upon a few hub firms. Main hubs are found to be: (1) long-established manufacturing companies; (2) wholesale companies; and (3) companies supplying workforce to third parties. The methodology of investigation provides a toolkit for monitoring labour market evolution, and should enable industry policies supporting labour reallocation mechanisms.regional labour markets, worker reallocation, complex networks, small world, hub dependence

Temporary employment agencies make the world smaller:Evidence from labour mobility networks

This paper investigates how employment intermediaries affected the inter-firm network of worker mobility in an region of Italy in response of the reform that first allowed for temporary employment agencies in 1997. We map worker reallocations from a matched employer-employee dataset onto a directed graph, where vertices indicate firms, and links denote transfers of workers between firms. Using network-based methodologies we find that temporary employment agencies significantly increase network integration and practicability, while fastly increasing control over hiring channels. The policy implications of the results are discussed, highlighting the potential of network analysis as monitoring tool for regional and local labour markets.Inter-firm networks, labour mobility, temporary employment agencies

The value of international outsourcing: an empirical study of Veneto clothing industry

This paper investigates production outsourcing of the Veneto footwear and clothing industries. It is based on a survey delivered to a group of final producers that in the 90s began to manage production on a global scale. Direct investment, subcontracting and partnership that materialize in product manufacturing abroad are considered. The positive impact of the delocalization decision on firm’s value added and gross earnings is estimated by combining direct observation with the data from the balance sheets and employment stock at the firm’s level. The study shows the importance of production management along the global value chain in order to give new competitivity to the Veneto traditional sector. In the 80s Veneto clothing and footwear firms faced the increased competition in the international markets by outsourcing to domestic subcontractors and in the 90s transferred much of the previous outsourcing abroad, in countries with low labour costs, mainly in Eastern Europe and East Asia. This decision has been accompanied by a significant increase both in value added per capita and gross profi

Produrre all'estero e fare profitti in patria: uno studio sulle imprese venete dell'abbigliamento e delle calzature

Information on the globalization of Italian companies is vast but incomplete and bitty. This work estimates some effects of delocalization on firm’s profits and value added for Veneto clothing and footwear firms. Through a direct survey on several companies and the estimate of a fixed effect model, we have estimated the “advantages” to a company brought about by the overseas delocalisation of some production phases. The increase in production moved abroad coincides with a significant net increase of both the per capita value added and the gross operative margin. These results seem to be in contrast with the idea that overseas outsourcing can only be a short-term answer to competitive pressures. However this is a measure which does not seem to have had any effect on the rate of production growth.Firm organization; globalization; outsourcing; global value chain; clothing industry; footwear industry

Smart specialisation for regional economic transformation

The aim of this paper is to provide a quick yet comprehensive understanding of the nature and logic of smart specialisation as a place-based strategy for economic transformation and development. The origin and characteristics of the smart specialisation approach in the European Union are presented together with the main challenges for a successful implementation. Smart specialisation is about identifying and pursuing sub-sectoral and inter-sectoral activities, which can be explored by existing but also new entrant firms, where technology can facilitate either radical innovation, or the incremental utilisation of existing skills/strengths in new niches, fostering regional and national technology-savvy economic transformation. Stakeholder involvement through an entrepreneurial discovery process is a defining feature of this approach.JRC.J.2-Knowledge for Growt

Implementing Smart Specialisation Strategies: A Handbook

Smart Specialisation represents the most comprehensive industrial policy experiment being implemented in Europe. Conceived within the reformed Cohesion policy of the European Commission, Smart Specialisation is a place-based policy promoting economic transformation and investment in innovative activities in selected areas of the socio-economic system in order to achieve a smart, inclusive and sustainable growth. Drawing on empirical evidence, the Smart Specialisation Implementation Handbook is targeted at policy-makers and regional development professionals who are crafting their innovation policy according to a common set of principles and methodologies. The handbook aims at taking stock of the Smart Specialisation experience and presenting its current state of the art, both in terms of conceptual developments and practical implementation. It addresses five key milestones of the implementation process: 1) The Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) cycle: from priority selection to strategy implementation 2) Good governance: principles and challenges 3) From priorities to projects: selection criteria and selection process 4) Transnational cooperation and value chains 5) MonitoringJRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Towards a muon collider

A muon collider would enable the big jump ahead in energy reach that is needed for a fruitful exploration of fundamental interactions. The challenges of producing muon collisions at high luminosity and 10 TeV centre of mass energy are being investigated by the recently-formed International Muon Collider Collaboration. This Review summarises the status and the recent advances on muon colliders design, physics and detector studies. The aim is to provide a global perspective of the field and to outline directions for future work