The international crisis and the Italian productive system: a firm-level study

Matteo Bugamelli, Riccardo Cristadoro and Giordano Zevi

No 58, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: We study the effects of the world economic crisis which began in 2007 on the Italian productive system. National accounts data are supplemented with information gathered in spring 2009 from the Bank of Italy�s survey on industrial and service firms, and from interviews with about 70 of their managers. Our sources confirm that this recession is the most severe recorded since the Second World War and that more than in the past, the recovery of the Italian economy will have to rely on internal demand dynamics and on firms� ability to respond to increased competitive pressure. Our rich dataset allows us to formulate some initial responses to important issues by distinguishing between firms according to size, sector and propensity to export. When the crisis struck, the Italian productive system was in the middle of a profound, albeit partial, restructuring process, the first fruits of which were beginning to be seen. It is therefore important to understand whether some of the firms that have been most involved in the restructuring process and which are therefore in debt today, are encountering external funding difficulties in this context of widespread falling demand�difficulties serious enough to threaten their very survival.

Keywords: cyclical fluctuations; recession; investment; firms� strategies; microdata; restructuring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 E22 E23 L20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-ifn and nep-sbm
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_58_09

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