86,941 research outputs found
Implications for managerial and industrial policy
No full textThis volume aims at diffusing at international level the issue of midsized enterprises which are increasingly considered as a tool for the strengthening of the manufacturing industry. The volume contains either quantity or quality analyses based on statistics on the universe of Italian firms and examining 23 case studies. A contribution on German Mittelstand is also included, by operating a comparison with Italian manufacturing midsized firms
Medium-Sized Enterprises in Europe
No full textThis essay summarizes the main results of the survey promoted by Confindustria, R&S-Mediobanca and Unioncamere on mid-sized enterprises in Europe in light of the literature on clusters of firms and recent developments in industrial organization, namely the spread of lean production methods originating in Japan and Europe and the globalization of the real economy and finance In this context, production is increasingly polarized between standardized goods, for which the dominant note is the effort to wring the largest possible cost savings from transfers of factories to emerging countries, and differentiated, mainly high-quality goods. The latter can be produced by companies based in advanced countries, which manage to be competitive when corporate objectives are keyed to maximizing the value of production through advanced, innovative processes. Mid-sized enterprises in Italy, Spain and Germany have a robust financial structure and are well-positioned in the market. The identification of the entrepreneur and employees with the firm is an essential sign: in the three countries, when a firm does not exceed a certain size, it remains, in Becattini's words, a "life project". the average firm displays the following key characteristics: family control; product specializetion deriving from hight technical skills and innovative capacity; fragmentation of the production structure along a chain often marked by "proximity"; a commercial strategy of securing and developing niche markets; a strong capital base end, consequently, relatively low leverage. These factors explain mid-sized firms' ability to overcome even severe economic crises, such as the recent recessio
Thermobarometric evolution and metasomatic processes of upper mantle in different tectonic settings: evidence from spinel peridotite xenoliths
No full textPetrological studies of spinel peridotite xenoliths provide information on the nature and physico-chemical evolution of the upper mantle and its variability on a regional scale, in both oceanic and continental environments. Thermobarometric estimates based on phase equilibria and CO2 inclusions indicate different pressure - temperature equilibration histories for xenoliths from different tectonic settings. In spinel peridotite xenoliths from all tectonic settings, modal metasomatic processes are suggested by widespread pyrometamorphic textures in some cases associated with new phases such as amphibole or jadeitic Cr-endiopside. Chemical effects of metasomatism include variable enrichment of incompatible elements. The metasomatic agents can be envisaged as strongly alkaline H2O-CO2-rich silicate melts. In the case of Cape Verde, the widespread development of jadeitic Cr-endiopside is better accounted for by assuming a carbonatite melt as metasomatizing agent which progressively converte..
I fondi comuni italiani: imitazioni domestiche di modelli esteri alla prova della globalizzazione finanziaria
No full textThe purpose of this article is to illustrate Italy's experience with mutual investment funds. These instruments appeared in Italy in the 1960s as an offshoot of non-Italian experiences. They began to develop in the late 1980s and then took off in the 1990s, but have declined significantly since the year 2000. The paper starts from the expectations of those who promoted this instrument, looking at behaviour and dynamics, and analysing the changes from the original model. The discussion closes with an account of the most recent trends. The conclusions highlight the fact that mutual funds have failed to take a leading role in corporate finance (which would have helped the Italian capital market itself to progress), that fund management has been persistently unsatisfactory and costly, and that the mutual fund system has proved to be fragile against a backdrop of financial globalizatio
Milan, from Military Might to Financial Power
No full textThe essay traces the history of Milan from the point of view of the political and financial institutions who ruled the city. It includes a chronology of the most important events from 1200 to 195
L'informazione finanziaria negli ultimi cento anni: un profilo storico
No full textQuesto saggio si occupa della produzione e diffusione dell’informazione finanziaria che coinvolge tre
principali protagonisti: i) l’impresa, quale “sorgente” dell’informazione, regolata dalle norme codificate e dagli
usi che stabiliscono che cosa debba essere reso pubblico e come; ii) i “canali di trasmissione”, ovvero i modi
nei quali l’informazione prodotta dalla sorgente viene trattata adattandola alle esigenze operative dei vari
stakeholders; iii) gli “interpreti”, che usano le informazioni integrate proponendosi scopi di
politica economica, di analisi sociale o semplicemente di comunicazione al pubblico indistinto (economisti,
politici, pubblicisti). I tre angoli visuali vengono sviluppati tenendo un filo rosso che prende lo spunto dalle
norme dettate con le leggi nazionali e le direttive comunitarie.
I cinque capitoli presentano una ricostruzione, arricchita di inediti, delle vicende e dei protagonisti
dell’informazione. Dalla prima “luce”, accesa nel 1908 dall’annuario del Credito Italiano, ripreso nel 1928
dall’Assonime, alle degenerazioni di Enron, Parmalat e degli analisti americani negli anni 2000, passando
per le scalate bancarie degli anni ’20 e i libri “cult” della finanza.This essay deals with the production and dissemination of financial information involving three
main protagonists: i) the company, as a "source" of information, governed by codified rules and by
uses that decide what should be made public and how; ii) the "transmission channels", ie the ways
in which the information produced by the source is treated in order to satisfy the requirements of the various
stakeholders; iii) the "interpreters", who use the integrated information for purposes of
economic policy, social analysis or simply to inform the general public (economists,
politicians, publicists). The three views are developed keeping a common thread that takes its cue from
rules established by national laws and EU directives.
The five chapters present a reconstruction,of the events and characters
information. From the first "light" lit in 1908 yearbook published by Credito Italiano, taken in 1928 by
Assonime, to the degeneration of Enron, Parmalat and American analysts in the 2000s, passing
through the bank takeovers in the 1920s and the Italian cult book
An introduction to the geomorphology of the Huè area (Vietnam).
No full textThe Huè area is located at the interaction between different
nat ural environment s that ar e the Song Huong
and Song Bo Rivers, the Tam-Giang-Cau Hai lagoon and
the coastal environment that include a long beach ridge.
To p lan a sustainable utilisat ion of the area the main
geomorphic features have been analysed using a photogeological
investigation and a short field trip. In between
the lagoon and the feet of the hills a series of beach ridges
have be en recognised th at a llow to establish that
during the maximum high stand of the t ransgression,
possibly around 6-8 ka ago, there was no lagoon and
the sea reached the foot of the hills. The following evolution
is the result of the river deposition that led to the
growth of a series of bar rier beach that had firstly a cuspate
and later an arcuate shape and contained a tidal
influenced de lta. Most probably thi s was the consequences
of soil erosion following increased human deforestation
of the catchment slopes. The genesis of the
more external beach ridge seems to be associated to a
peri od of enhanced marine ero sion and the landward
reworkin g of the se dim ent s stor e d i n the submerged
beach. It is suggested that this was the result of the decline
of coral growth following increased amount of suspend
l oad car ried b y riv e rs. In fact the pr e s ent -day
barrier beach for the first time block the lagoon while in
the past the interaction between river and coastal dynamics
were always able to redistribute sideway its sediments.
Although the agents at work have been outlined,
in orde r to und erstand the evolutionary trend and the
speed of the processes it is necessary to get information
that are currently unavailable. They regards the type
and amo unt of so lid lo a d c a rried by the rivers, the
amount of sediments that enter or escape the lagoon
area and the long-shore drif ting. In fact, all these agents
play a role not only in the stability and the natural hazard
affecting the town of Huè but also the lagoon that constitute
the major resource for agriculture and fisheries
- …
