B029658 - FIRMS AND INTERNATIONALIZATION

Italian

The course is an introduction to the main themes of globalization, the concepts of comparative and absolute advantage, as well as international activities and the various forms of internationalization of companies (import, export, direct investment, global value chains, outsourcing, offshoring, etc. ) and their role in the international economy.

• [B-W] Baldwin R., Wyplosz C. Economia dell’integrazione europea.

Libri di testo di riferimento per alcune parti del programma:
• [K-O-M] Krugman P., Obstfeld M., Melitz M. Economia internazionale.
• [F-T] Feenstra R., Taylor A. M. Economia internazionale.
• Barba Navaretti G., Venables A. J. Le multinazionali nell'economia mondiale. Il Mulino.

Libri, rapporti e articoli di approfondimento consigliati:
Italia nelle catene del valore, a cura di G. Giovannetti e E. Marvasi, Rubbettino, 2022
Goldstein A, Agenda Italia 2023, il Mulino, 2018
Helpman E, capire il commercio globale, il Mulino, 2011
Mayer, Ottaviano (2008) The Happy Few. https://bruegel.org/2007/11/the-happy-few-the-internationalisation-of-european-firms/
Goldstein A., Piscitello L. Le multinazionali. Il Mulino.
Wagner, J. (2011) International Trade and Firm Performance: A Survey of Empirical Studies since 2006. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10290-011-0116-8
Bernard, Andrew B., Jensen, J. Bradford, Redding, Stephen J., Schott, Peter K. (2011) The Empirics of Firm Heterogeneity and International Trade. NBER Working Paper No. 17627. https://www.nber.org/papers/w17627

to familiarize with the main models of international trade
• to understand the causes & consequences of international trade
• To analyze the different forms of business internationalization
• to learn how to measure the phenomena studied (use of indicators)
•to learn to apply the concepts and tools studied for the analysis of real cases
• to improve the understanding of recent and future events
• to develop critical thinking on international economic policies

microeconomics

lecture and students presentations

Students are assessed in different ways, with some differences between attending and non-attending students. During the course, the attendance of students will be collected, possibly even on a sample basis. For the purpose of distinguishing between attending and non-attending students, only the attendance recorded by the teachers is relevant.
Attending students (≥75% of attendance): a student qualifies as attending with at least 75% of attendance recorded by the teachers. The evaluation of active participation in the course takes into account the attendance recorded and the behavior in the classroom. The evaluation includes:
a) A written exam (55%)
b) An individual or group presentation (40% of the final grade)
c) Active participation in the course (for attending students; 5% of the final grade)
Non-attending students (<75% of attendance): non-attending students or students who have less than 75% of registered attendances will not be admitted to the presentations and will not be assessed on the basis of them, but they can optionally give the teacher a individual paper. The evaluation includes:
a) A written exam (100% or 75% if the student chooses to do the paper)
b) Optional: an individual paper (25% of the final grade)

The program will deal with the following topics:
1. Introduction; the globalization; how globalization and the attractiveness of a country are measured: economic indicators
2. Absolute / comparative advantage; a reference to international trade models;
3. The different forms of internationalization; offshoring, outsourcing and foreign direct investments
4. Global value chains and international fragmentation of production
5. Data in international trade: what they are, how they are used etc.
6. Commercial policy: the most recent main treaties (CETA, KOREU ...) and their innovativeness compared to the "old models"
7. Trade wars / US China; sanctions against Russia: how they affect Italian companies
8. European Economy: history, intra-European and extra-European trade, businesses and trade constraints
9. Brexit: uncertainty, impact on businesses in various European countries and on the United Kingdom
10. Italy in international trade; business challenges, productivity and competitiveness
11 impact of the war on Italian and EU firms

sgd 4, sdg 5, sdg 11