Rome, 24-25 November 2009 Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze Biblioteca “Luca Pacioli” - Sala Conferenze - Polo Multifunzionale Via Pastrengo, 1

ITALY’S EXTERNAL COMPETITIVENESS CONFERENCE AGENDA

MINISTERO DELL’ECONOMIA E DELLE FINANZE DIPARTIMENTO DEL TESORO Direzione Analisi Economico-Finanziaria

8:30 REGISTRATION AND WELCOME COFFEE

9:00 - 9:15 WELCOME ADDRESS AND INTRODUCTION Vittorio Grilli (Ministry of Economy and Finance)

Day One: Measuring Competitiveness

DAY ONE

The objective of this first session is to tackle some of the issues below: Price and cost factors affecting external competitiveness: exchange rates, wages and productivity

Equilibrium real exchange rate (using different denominators: price deflators and ULC); Wage, productivity and ULC developments; Does Italy have a problem? Basic data (current account, export market share, sectoral, geographical

destination, technological content, quality upgrading); What are the usual suspects explaining external sector performance? (globalisation, productivity,

wages, ULC and structural factors).

Some structural factors affecting external competitiveness

A. The impact of domestic markets for inputs on exporting firms (impact of domestically produced input costs on export firm competitiveness and on their ability to adapt to changes in market structure, foreign competition and the economic cycle)

Labour market flexibility (wage flexibility and hiring and firing); Goods and services market flexibility (price of domestically produced inputs).

B. Structure of production and financing in the export sector firm size, supply chain, production process, marketing, clusters; financing (banks, venture capital, equity markets, trade financing).

C. Role of macroeconomic stability and implications of the crisis for the external sector Government debt and deficit, interest rates, inflation; Impact of the crisis on euro exchange rate, global imbalances.

D. Role of policy in improving external competitiveness Productivity, wage moderation; Lisbon agenda.

E. The above topics with a specific focus on Italy.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Chair: Luigi Paganetto (Tor Vergata University, Rome)

9:15 - 10:45 Stephanie Guichard*, Jerome Brezillon, Calista Cheung (OECD)

THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS AND OTHER FACTORS IN EXPLAINING

EXPORT PERFORMANCE

Discussant: Luca De Benedictis (University of Macerata)

Josefa Monteagudo*, Francesco Montaruli (EU Commission)

ANALYSING NON - PRICE COMPETITIVENESS IN EURO AREA COUNTRIES

Discussant: Ottavio Ricchi (Ministry of Economy and Finance)

10:45 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 - 13:15 Florence Jaumotte*, Piyaporn Sodsriwiboon (IMF)

CURRENT ACCOUNT IMBALANCES IN THE SOUTHERN EURO AREA: CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND REMEDIES

Discussant: Massimiliano Pisani (Bank of Italy)

Matteo Bugamelli*, Silvia Fabiani, Enrico Sette (Bank of Italy)

THE PRO-COMPETITIVE EFFECT OF IMPORT FROM CHINA: AN ANALYSIS ON FIRM-LEVEL PRICE DATA Discussant: Marianna Belloc (La Sapienza University, Rome)

Filippo Di Mauro* (ECB), Gianmarco Ottaviano (Bocconi University, Milan), Daria Taglioni (ECB)

THE EURO AND THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ITALIAN FIRMS

Discussant: Paolo Epifani (Bocconi University, Milan)

13:15 - 14:30 Lunch Break

Chair: Lorenzo Codogno (Ministry of Economy and Finance)

14:30 - 16:00 Francesco Nucci* (La Sapienza University, Rome), Alberto Franco Pozzolo (University of Molise)

THE EXCHANGE RATE, EMPLOYMENT AND HOURS: WHAT FIRM-LEVEL DATA SAY

Discussant: Andrea Gerali (Bank of Italy)

Marco Fortis* (Edison Foundation)

COMPETITIVENESS AND EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF ITALY

Discussant: Stefano Manzocchi (Luiss University, Rome)

16:00 - 16:15 Coffee Break

16:15 - 17:45 Sergio De Nardis*, Roberto Basile*, Alessandro Girardi (ISAE)

PRICING TO MARKET WHEN QUALITY MATTERS

Discussant: Giuseppe De Arcangelis (La Sapienza University, Rome)

Alberto Felettigh*, Stefano Federico (Bank of Italy)

MEASURING THE PRICE ELASTICITY OF IMPORT DEMAND IN THE DESTINATION MARKETS OF ITALIAN EXPORTS

Discussant: Rodolfo Helg (LIUC, Castellanza - Bocconi University, Milan)

DAY ONE

Day Two: Business Services, Competitiveness and Internationalization

The objective of the second day is to address some important issues connected to the importance of

services for competitiveness, with a specific focus on Italy:

Efficient producer services are increasingly relevant to the pursuit of an outward-oriented growth strategy;

Access to efficient services matters not only because it creates the potential for new exports but also because it is an increasingly important determinant of economic productivity and competitiveness;

To compete at the international level, exporters increasingly rely on reduced product-cycle times, prompt delivery, and improved customer services. As a result, the service content of final exports is increasing;

Markets for these services are sensitive to technological change; Innovative service providers are enhancing transportation and communication systems, and

developing an advanced services infrastructure. Availability of infrastructure is a criterion in location decisions of exporters;

Because of the non-storability of many services, FDI is the major mode of international delivery of services. Lowering barriers to FDI is crucial;

Importance of “long-distance” services: data entry was one of the first service activities to be

internationally outsourced. Software programming is increasingly traded across borders and so are

"Back-office" service activities.

DAY TWO

Chair: Beniamino Quintieri (Tor Vergata University, Rome)

8:45 - 11:00 Luis Rubalcaba*, Stefano Visintin (Alcalà University, Madrid - IAES)

CROSSING BOARDERS: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIFFERENT MODES OF INTERNATIONAL PROVISION OF SERVICES

Discussant: Lucia Tajoli (Politecnico di Milano - KITeS - Bocconi University, Milan)

Valentina Meliciani* (University of Teramo), Paolo Guerrieri (La Sapienza University, Rome)

INTERNATIONALIZATION, TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS SERVICE SPECIALIZATION IN EUROPE

Discussant: Alessandra Lanza (Prometeia)

Antonio Vezzani* (Tor Vergata University, Rome), Rinaldo Evangelista (University of Camerino)

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATIONS ON FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE SECTORS?

Discussant: Alessandro Sembenelli (University of Turin)

11:00 - 11:15 Coffee Break

11:15 - 13:30 Davide Castellani*, Fabio Pieri (University of Perugia)

FOREIGN INVESTMENTS AND PRODUCTIVITY. EVIDENCE FROM EUROPEAN REGIONS

Discussant: Carlo Altomonte (Bocconi University, Milan)

Giorgia Giovannetti* (University of Florence), Massimo Armenise (Manlio Masi Foundation), Ilaria Cingottini (EUI)

DO FDI IN BUSINESS SERVICES FOLLOW FDI IN MANUFACTURING? EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN FIRM-LEVEL DATA

Discussant: Giorgio Barba Navaretti (University of Milan)

Rosario Crinò* (Institut d’Anàlisi Econòmica CSIC, Barcelona)

THE EFFECTS OF SERVICES’ OFFSHORING UPON PRODUCTIVITY: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS FROM ITALIAN AND EUROPEAN DATA (IN ITALIAN)

Discussant: Simone Bertoli (European University Institute)

13:30 - 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 - 16:30 PANEL Chaired by Luigi Paganetto (Tor Vergata University, Rome)

COMPETITIVITÀ, INTERNAZIONALIZZAZIONE E SERVIZI NEGLI SCENARI DI USCITA DALLA CRISI

Patrizio Bianchi (University of Ferrara) Lorenzo Codogno (Ministry of Economy and Finance)

Alexandra Guarda-Rauchs (Ministère de l’Economie, Luxembourg)

Paolo Guerrieri (La Sapienza University, Rome) Fabrizio Onida (Bocconi University, Milan - KITeS) Beniamino Quintieri (Tor Vergata University, Rome) Salvatore Rossi (Bank of Italy)

* Indicates the presenter.

DAY TWO