Anna Maria Falzoni

Foreign Direct Investment, Wage Inequality, and Skilled Labor Demand in EU Accession Countries

During the 1990s Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have experienced rapid increases in wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers and received the largest FDI inflow in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper analyzes whether FDI has contributed to the raise in earning inequality via a change in the skill composition of labor demand in the three countries. While we find that in Hungary and the Czech Republic FDI exerts a positive direct impact on the skill-premium, in none of the countries considered FDI has worsened wage inequality by favoring labor demand shifts.

The decision to invest in a low-wage country: Evidence from Italian textiles and clothing multinationals

In this paper we investigate the firm-specific factors that account for the decision to invest in low-wage countries on the part of Italian firms in the textiles and clothing sector. This analysis is motivated by the fact that our survey data show, between 1990 and 1997, a decline of average employment in parent companies, while that in subsidiaries grew substantially. However, correlation and regression analysis show that employment in parent companies that invested in low-wage countries only seems to be negatively related with employment abroad. Our hypothesis is that investments in cheap labour countries are mainly cost-driven and are undertaken by firms that focus on a low-quality, low-cost strategy. We test this hypothesis through a probit analysis. The evidence suggests that investments to cheap labour countries are more likely to be of a vertical type, being relatively more labour-intensive compared with the parent company. Our hypothesis seems to be confirmed empirically. Investments in low-wage countries are more likely to generate abundant intra-firm trade and to be undertaken by firms with low shares of skilled employment.

Skilled and unskilled wage dynamics in Italy in the 1990s: changes in individual characteristics, institutions, trade and technology

In this paper, we use individual micro data on workers combined with industry and regional data to study the wage dynamics of skilled and unskilled workers in Italy in the 1991–1998 period. In contrast to previous empirical studies, our data make it possible to analyse, within a single framework, the role of many of the factors indicated in the literature as possible determinants of skilled and unskilled wage dynamics: changes in the individual characteristics of workers, changes in labour market institutions, increasing international integration, and skill‐biased technological progress. Our results show that international integration, both in terms of trade in goods and in terms of international labour mobility, plays a role in determining the wage dynamics of skilled (white‐collar) and unskilled (blue‐collar) workers. Moreover, in line with labour economics research, our findings show that the individual characteristics of workers and the institutional variables are more relevant in explaining skilled and unskilled wage dynamics than wage differentials.

Foreign Direct Investment, Trade, and Skilled Labour Demand in Eastern Europe

In this paper, we study the effects of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade on relative skilled labour demand in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Our estimates show significant heterogeneity in the FDI effect across the three economies: the effect is always significantly positive for Hungary, weakly negative for Poland, and negligible for the Czech Republic. As to trade, we find much more homogeneity in coefficient estimates, which are generally negative for all countries, although significant only in the case of Hungary.

Motivations and Expectations of Students’ Mobility Abroad: A Mapping Technique

Internationalization of higher education is a rapidly rising phenomenon and it has become a priority in the European education policy. At the same time, research in this area is expanding with the aim of understanding motivations and potential benefits of international students’ mobility. Within this context, the purpose of our contribution is to analyse students’ motivations and the fulfillment of their expectations about the mobility experience abroad. To this aim, we have conducted an online survey addressed to a sample of about 1300 Italian students enrolled in a medium size university (the University of Bergamo) with outward mobility experiences during the six academic years from 2008/2009 to 2013/2014. To assess the results of the survey, we propose a mapping of the answer variables using the VOSviewer software.

Modelli di specializzazione e imprese esportatrici : Italia, Francia e Germania a confronto

The position of Italy in the international division of labour is unusual: strong in the traditional sectors and in some specialized supply industries, but weak in sectors based on economies of scale and, especially, in the high-tech sector, where capital and skillabundant countries historically have a comparative advantage. These production and trade patterns have fuelled increasing concern about Italy’s vulnerability in the foreign markets, where it faces the competitive pressure of products from low-wage countries. Are these factors mostly to blame for Italy’s poor export performance, or do other factors, such as the size distribution of exporting firms, play important roles in the country’s recent export dynamics? The paper aims to shed light on these issues through a comparative analysis of the recent international performance of Italy and its two major European partners, France and Germany.