Italian trade and direct investment in North Africa

Riccardo Settimo

No 226, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: More than three years since the events of the Arab Spring, the five North African countries � Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia are still going through a difficult transition. This study provides an overview of Italian trade and direct investment in the region. The main stylized facts are the following: (1) among the countries of the European Union, Italy is the region�s largest trading partner; (2) the region is a crucial source of energy, supplying 31 per cent of the oil and 44 per cent of the natural gas that Italy imports; (3) compared with the EU average, Italian exports are specialized in refined petroleum products and capital goods. The primary objective of Italian firms� direct investment in North African countries is to enter new markets rather than to secure lower production costs.

Keywords: international trade; foreign direct investment (FDI); North Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F10 F21 F50 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara, nep-ene, nep-eur and nep-int
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_226_14

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