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This paper investigates the relationship between the presence of women on corporate boards of directors and sustainability practices of Italian SMEs. Using a unique survey on how SMEs in the Italian province of Brescia deal with two main pillars of sustainability (environmental quality and social responsiveness), we investigate whether women on boards promote, more than men, sustainable practices and which of the two pillars is targeted the most by women.

Questo contributo si propone di identificare i principi e i valori fondamentali alla base della nascita e dello sviluppo di un’attività imprenditoriale. In contrasto con la teoria economica neoclassica, oggi dominante in economia, che negli anni non ha saputo cogliere il ruolo e il contributo fondamentale dell’imprenditore, si mostrerà come ogni impresa, vera e concreta, nasca sempre dall’iniziativa personale, dalla libera e responsabile creatività umana e definisca nel tempo un capitale umano e sociale che acquista le caratteristiche di un vero e proprio bene sociale. La comunità di persone che si viene a costituire attorno a un’idea, a un progetto, costituisce e si identifica con l’impresa, la cui vita si nutre poi di relazioni di collaborazione e cooperazione, sia interne sia esterne. Si viene così a definire una concezione di impresa come “comunità di uomini che, in diverso modo, perseguono il soddisfacimento dei loro fondamentali bisogni e costituiscono un particolare gruppo al servizio dell’intera società” (Centesimus annus, 35).

COVID-19 has generated an unprecedented shock to the global economy causing both the decrease in demand and supply. The purpose of this paper is to simulate the effect of COVID-19 on firms' financial statements in Brescia. The shocked information is then fed into two machine learning bankruptcy models with the aim of providing an up-to-date picture of firms' economic health in one of the most prosperous industrial areas in Italy and Europe.

This paper analyses the link between banking geography and firm performance, i.e., whether the proximity within banks and between banks and borrowers has a positive impact on firms’ Returns on Assets (ROA). Using a unique dataset of Italian manufacturing firms and banks from 2006 to 2011 and an instrumental variable approach to account for endogeneity, we investigate whether this effect increases with the presence of community banks and small businesses and whether the relationship changes over the credit boom and bust, which preceded and followed the Lehman Brothers collapse. We show that geographical proximity matters for firm performance especially when the presence of community banks is high and when considering small (micro) firms. During the credit boom, both functional distance and operational proximity seem to matter, whereas, during the credit crunch, operational proximity has a more relevant role compared to functional distance in becoming an important driver to increase firm’s performance.

Using a dataset which combines Community Innovation Survey(CIS) and accounting information on Italian manufacturing firms,we adopt a two step econometric procedure to investigate whether the receipt of public funding determines firms’ innovation strategy selection. In the first step an innovation selection equation is estimated, in the second we adopt a bivariate probit model. The main finding is that public funding influences whether firms select the make, the buy or the make&buy strategy, favoring the latter. The composite strategy is the one linked to the buildup of absorptive capacity which, according to the empirical evidence, turns out to be associated to a better innovative performance.

This paper analyses the link between spatial developments in the banking sector and firm performance focusing on how this relation evolves during the credit boom and bust which precedes and follows the 2008 crisis. Using a dataset of Italian manufacturing firms and banks at the province level from 2006 to 2011, we show that geographical proximity (within banks and between banks and borrowers) matters for firm performance, but has a different impact during credit booms and busts. What matters the most for increasing firm performance, during the credit boom, is a short distance between the control centre of lending decision and the local branches (functional distance), whereas during the credit crunch, only the operational proximity of banks to borrowers becomes an important driver to increase firm performance.

We provide a predictive model specifically designed for the Italian economy that classifies solvent and insolvent firms one year in advance using the AIDA Bureau van Dijk data set for the period 2007–15. We apply a full battery of bankruptcy forecasting models, including both traditional and more sophisticated machine-learning techniques, and add to the financial ratios used in the literature a set of industrial/regional variables. We find that XGBoost is the best performer, and that industrial/regional variables are important. Moreover, belonging to a district, having a high mark-up and a greater market share diminish bankruptcy probability.

This paper investigates the interaction between investment decisions, company foreclosure, and capital structure in the case of a constrained firm. We consider irreversible investments in R\&D projects with uncertain returns, financed through debt. Uncertainty comes from two different sources: the technological success of the project is probabilistic, and the return from investment evolves stochastically over time. These two elements, together with the lack of historical performance represent a substantial risk to the lenders, which will limit substantially the availability of loans. In our analysis, we first assume that the firm finances the R&D project through debt, and then, we further assume that the firm's debt capacity is limited to a certain amount. We show that leverage distorts the investment threshold and the shareholders of a levered firm accelerate investment with respect to an all equity financed firm. Moreover, when a firm is "financially constrained", it tends to overinvest compared to a non constrained levered firm. Thus, the financial constraint induces firms to play a "bird in the hand" investment strategy.

We analyse empirically the relationship between financial imperfections and firms’ innovative activities over the business cycle, using an Italian firm-level dataset based on survey data on innovation and balance sheet information over the period 2004–10. We explore how innovative investment decisions changed prior to and after the credit crunch of 2008, also focusing on the effect of firm’ financial vulnerability measured by the Whited and Wu (2006) index (WW index). Results show that the link between innovative expenditure patterns and the business cycle is very weak in the absence of credit restrictions and financial vulnerability. The crisis, per se, and the financial vulnerability, per se, do not change this weak relation. The latter becomes highly pro-cyclical only in one case: when firms are financially vulnerable and have to face tight credit conditions.

This paper investigates the interaction between R&D investment timing, probability of default, and capital structure. In particular we are interested in studying the investment behaviour of three different types of firms according to their capital structure: firms that only use internal funds as a source of funding (unlevered), firms that use debt and that are able to attract unlimited amount of funds (levered unconstrained) and finally firms that use debt, but are not able to attract all the amount needed (levered constrained). We consider irreversible investments in R&D with uncertain returns, financed through debt. We show that debt financing (with or without constraints) significantly alters the standard results in the real option literature. First, we show that leverage distorts the investment threshold and shareholders of a levered firm tend to accelerate investment with respect to an all equity financed firm. This finding is explained by the fact that the increase in the probability of default, which is positively correlated with leverage, might induce a potential loss of the investment option and thus reduce the value of the option to wait providing equity holders with an incentive to speed up the investment. Second, if we introduce the financial constraint, the investment threshold is characterized by a U-shaped relation. The latter implies that the investment threshold diminishes as the financial constraint becomes less stringent, but up to a certain minimum value. After a certain amount of leverage the firm attitude towards R&D investment changes. The firm becomes more risk adverse, given the much higher probability of default (linked to a much higher leverage in its balance sheet).

The essay is devoted to analyze the key threat to SMEs’ innovation capacity represented by counterfeiting, which is a substantial share of the illegal and criminal part of the so called informal economy. After a review of the so called “spirit of entrepreneurship” and its concrete expression, i.e. the SME based productive sector, the risks deriving to the economy (and to society in large) from counterfeiting activities are considered and it is shown how counterfeiting can severely undermine SMEs’ innovation processes.

We aim to provide a predictive model, specifically designed for the Italian economy, which classifies solvent and insolvent firms one year in advance, using AIDA Bureau van Dijk dataset from 2007 to 2015. We apply a full battery of bankruptcy forecasting models, including both traditional and more sophisticated machine learning techniques, and add to the financial ratios used in the literature a set of industrial/regional variables. We find that XGBoost is the best performer and that industrial/regional variables are important. Moreover, belonging to a district, having a high mark up and a greater market share diminish bankruptcy probability.

This article aims at assessing the innovative performance of Italian SMEs through the analysis of the many dimensions which together define firms’ innovative capability. The European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) classifies Italy as a moderate innovator. However, when disaggregating the data, it is possible to observe that Italy performs below the European average, when considering Innovation Enablers (e.g. Human Resources, R&D and Financial Support) and Firms’ Innovation Activities, and above the European average, when focusing on the the Output of innovation, i.e. its economic effect on exports and sales. Thus, it seems that Italian SMEs have been able to exploit agglomeration economies, due to the fruitful activity of industrial districts, and have been the actors of a success story, which combines growth and innovation. Finally, the article identifies and briefly examines three key questions: the impact of capital structure on innovation, the role of public funding in addressing R&D strategies and the potential benefit of the cooperation between firms and universities.

The purpose of the article is to provide some evidence on the interconnection between capital structure, R&D investment and ownership concentration using a unique panel data-set of Italian firms. We study the effect of R&D intensity on leverage for two groups of firms which are different in terms of their degree of ownershipconcentration. Our results suggest for Public Limited Companies, a nonlinear relationship between R&D intensity and leverage, with the latter first increasing and then decreasing. Interestingly, the same result is not found to hold true for Private Limited Companies, which are characterized by a more concentrated ownership.

The essay aims at emphasizing the crucial role of subsidiarity, both internal and external, for financial institutions proper functioning. Overall the issues investigated fall inside the more fgeneral debate about corporate governance of financial institutions.

This study investigates whether the receipt of public R&D funding determines firm's R&D strategy selection. Using the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) dataset including more than 3000 Italian manufacturing companies, we adopt a multinomial logit model after controlling for sample selection and endogeneity issues which arise when dealing with CIS data. The main finding is that public R&D funding in uences whether firms select the make, the buy or the make&buy strategy and in particular firms, after receiving public support, prefer the composite strategy rather than the single strategies. This result turns out to be good news given that government support, correcting for the market failures which characterize the combined strategy, favors the strategy which seems to enhance a positive synergy between in house R&D and external sourcing.

Il volume raccoglie gli atti dei convegni promossi dalla Fondazione Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice (FCAPP) tra settembre 2013 ed ottobre 2014. In particolare il volume contiene le relazioni finali: “The Good Society and the Future of Jobs: Can Solidarity and Fraternity be Part of Business Decisions?” (Città del Vaticano 8-14 maggio 2014); “Poverty and Development: A Catholic Perspective” (organizzato dalla Fondazione Pro Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice statunitense in collaborazione con la Fordham University a New York il 26 e 27 settembre 2014). Il volume contiene anche i report riassuntivi e le proposte finali delle due consultazioni internazionali sul tema “A Dialogue on finance and the Common Good” (Città del Vaticano 27 e 28 settembre 2013; Dublino 24 e 25 ottobre 2014). Il volume ha una prefazione di alberto Quadrio curzio e Giovanni Marseguerra (rispettivamente Presidente e Segretario del Comitato Scientifico della fondazione CAPP) e dalla Dichiarazione della FCAPP 2015.

The short introduction to the book provides an overview of the main issues addressed in the volume and aims at emphasising, within the general framework of the Catholic Social Teaching, the importance of solidarity and subsidiarity to guide community towards true human development.

This paper aims at investigating the determinants of firms’ technological competencies and capabilities as defined by von Tunzelmann and Wang (Economie Appliquée 6:33–64, 2003). The analysis carried out in the paper shows that some company characteristics, such as size, being part of a group and internationalization, as well as cooperation channels significantly impact on the innovative behavior of Italian firms, in increasing both their likelihood of becoming actively innovative and their potential to economically exploit the returns from innovative activity. Moreover, also geographical location appears to be a significant relevant factor. The findings are based on firm-level data provided by the Italian Community Innovation Survey (CIS).

The essay seeks to shed light on some of the main ideas that have characterized the work of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation over the last three years.

The articles collected in this volume report, with a few minor changes, presentations given during the international annual Conference and Consultation organized by the Foundation in 2017. Overall, the papers here collected provide the main ideas that have characterized the work of the Foundation over the last two years and illustrate the efforts made by the Foundation to respond to the concerns raised by the Holy Father on the occasion of the audiences granted to the Foundation in 2016 and 2017. Specifically, three broad topics are addressed in the volume, all related to the transformations of the digital age. First the role of catholic social teaching in the current global turmoil, then the future of jobs and wages in a rapidly changing and technology driven environment and, finally, some relevant recently emerged ethical issues in economics and finance. The common thread running through all the contributions is the multidimensional nature of solidarity, here envisaged as a crucial community value of our society and a key principle of catholic social teaching which should guide our behavior in a forward looking manner. In this respect, intergenerational solidarity acquires a special relevance for its capacity to take into consideration future generations in current decisions.

We analyze empirically the relationship between financial imperfections and firms’ R&D expenditure over the business cycle, using an Italian firm-level dataset based on survey data on innovation and balance sheet information over the period 2004-2010. We explore how R&D investments’ decisions change prior and after the credit crunch of 2008 also focusing on the effect of firms’ financial vulnerability measured by the Whited and Wu index. We show that when financial markets are perfect, i.e. low credit rationing and low financial vulnerability, R&D expenditure is counter-cyclical fostering the important role of mitigating fluctuations over the business cycle. On the other hand as firms face tighter constraints and/or higher financial vulnerability, R&D investments become pro-cyclical amplifying the effects of the business cycle.

Siro Lombardini, uno dei massimi economisti italiani del XX secolo, introdusse nella pratica della scienza economica nuovi approcci metodologici, anche attraverso l'ispirazione che gli veniva dal coltivare, con attenzione e curiosità, altre discipline. Il saggio da' conto di uno di questi approcci, denominato computational economics.

In questo saggio vengono posti a confronto, dal punto di vista dell'analisi economica, Brasile e Italia, due grandi Paesi che, pur se assai differenti quanto ad astensione geografica e dimensione della popolazione, sono tuttavia accomunati da storici legami fondati non solo sui circa trenta milioni di brasiliani di origine italiana ma soprattutto su una medesima tradizione culturale centrata sul rispetto e sulla valorizzazione della persona, sia nelle imprese sia più in generale nei processi produttivi. La persona, e non l’individuo come nella cultura anglosassone, è al centro delle relazioni economiche (anche di quelle di mercato). Si tratta, anche dal punto di vista dell’analisi economica, di un elemento di grande rilevanza per comprendere le effettive modalità di funzionamento di un sistema Paese.

This paper investigates the interaction between investment decisions, company bankruptcy, and capital structure. We model young and innovative enterprises which face the possibility of making irreversible investments in R&D with uncertain returns, financed through risky debt. Uncertainty comes from two different sources: the technological success of the project and the return from investment. In an optimal investment setting, where uncertainty creates an incentive to delay investment decisions, we find the optimal threshold of entry (invest) and exit (bankruptcy), investigating both the case of infinite and finite debt maturity. We show that the potential loss of the investment option in the event of default, reduces the value of waiting and provides equity holders with an incentive to accelerate the investment. Thus the results of the model here presented seem to imply an active role for financial institutions but traditional loans may not be the most suitable solution to finance risky investment. In line with recent recommendations of the European Investment Bank (EIB, 2013), traditional bank lending might need to be reinforced through further instruments, such as loan guarantees and securitisation.

The short introduction to the book provides an overview of the main issues addressed in the volume and aims at emphasising, within the general framework of the Catholic Social Teaching, the importance of solidarity and subsidiarity to guide economic processes towards true human development.

Si tratta di una riflessione sul ruolo della carità e la sua connessione con la giustizia sociale, come elementi distintivi del pensiero e dell'azione di Ozanam, nella dottrina sociale della Chiesa. Ozanam fu una delle maggiori figure del laicato cattolico del XIX secolo, anticipatore di quel profilo del laico cristiano che il Concilio Vaticano II delineerà nella "Lumen Gentium". In questo saggio si analizza anche il contesto storico economico-sociale della riflessione e dell'azione caritativa di Ozanam e la natura della stessa che Ozanam ha inteso promuovere attraverso la Compagnia San Vincenzo.

Il saggio considera l’evoluzione recente dei sistemi di welfare dei Paesi cosiddetti sviluppati, vero crocevia delle relazioni tra economia, società e istituzioni, e esamina le sfide poste da un welfare che dovrà cambiare in modo radicale se vorrà continuare ad essere universalistico, offrendo a tutti un livello di benessere non troppo dissimile da quello a cui ci ha abituato per più di mezzo secolo.

This paper focuses on the relationship between firms’ innovative performance and different forms of academic cooperation for innovation, paying a specific attention to the role of Universities as sources of information. We build a dataset merging information drawn from two different surveys carried out by the Bank of Italy between 2007 and 2010. We show that the impact for firms of partnering with universities, in terms of the likelihood of producing a drastic innovation, is significant and increases as the level and quality of engagement increases. Thus, Universities may represent a privileged source of knowledge for firm. A tighter collaboration between firms and universities is associated with greater degree of novelty of innovation.

This paper aims at investigating the role of different cooperation channels in enhancing the technological status of the Italian companies, as defined by Von Tunzelmann and Wang (2003). Different types of cooperation are examined along three lines: with customers and suppliers (i.e. vertical cooperation), with other firms, competitors and consultants (i.e. horizontal cooperation), and finally with universities and public research institutions (i.e. institutional cooperation). From a methodological point of view the technological status of a firm is modelled as a categorical ordered dependent variable of a generalized ordered logit model where cooperation partnerships and firm’s characteristics play the role of independent variables. The findings, based on firm-level data provided by the Italian Community Innovation Survey (CIS 2008), show that cooperation channels as well as some company characteristics, such as size, human capital and internationalization, significantly impact on the technological status of Italian firms, despite important regional differences

All’interno della comunità degli economisti sembra essere oggi presente un crescente disagio e un diffuso malcontento relativamente alle capacità della modellistica neoclassica di comprendere e spiegare i fenomeni economici. La relazione intende esaminare criticamente il contributo della formalizzazione matematica nelle teorie economiche, mettendo in evidenza sia punti di forza di un tale approccio sia le debolezze insite in un’analisi che rischia spesso di privilegiare la bellezza dello strumento rispetto all’oggetto di studio. Si considerano poi alcune delle moderne prospettive per l’indagine economica offerte dalla modellistica basata sulla simulazione a computer che consente di tener conto della complessità della realtà in misura maggiore di un approccio puramente analitico. Viene infine evidenziata l’importanza di garantire la coesistenza di una pluralità di scuole di pensiero in economia e si esaminano altresì le difficoltà per la valutazione della ricerca provocate dell’esistenza di un paradigma dominante. Nelle conclusioni viene enfatizzata la necessità di considerare l’economia come una vera scienza sociale.

Il saggio si propone di illustrare l'importanza, nei processi di globalizzazione, della promozione del nesso tra libertà e responsabilità tramite due esemplificazioni di grande rilevanza anche se evidentemente non esaustive: gli assetti di welfare e i sistemi d'impresa, cioè il benessere di una società e l'apparato produttivo che consente di raggiungere quel benessere.

The short introduction to the book provides an overview of the main issues addressed in the volume and aims at emphasising, within the general framework of the Catholic Social Teaching, the importance of subsidiarity for fostering true human development.

Il volume raccoglie i contributi presentati nel corso del Convegno internazionale dal titolo "Institutions, society and markets: towards a new international bilance", organizzato dalla Fondazione "Centesimus Annus - Pro Pontefice" e tenutosi il 4 e 5 maggio 2012 presso l'Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano, che ha affrontato un tema particolarmente discusso dalla dottrina sociale della Chiesa, vale a dire i rapporti tra stato, società ed economia.Gli scritti qui raccolti mostrano come, per comprendere l'odierna crisi socio-economica, sia necessario allontanarsi da una visione strettamente economica e affrontare così il problema collocandosi nel contesto più ampio dei rapporti tra istituzioni, società ed economia. Il lavoro si inserisce nella collana "Fondazione Centesimus Annus Pro Pontefice" ed è rivolto a tutti gli imprenditori e i dirigenti cristiani, ma anche alle famiglie e agli studenti delle facoltà economiche.

The essay is devoted to issues related to the social capital concept such as values, identity and membership.These issues are closely related to both human capital and the role of a district's identity.

This short introduction to the book provides an overview of the main issues addressed in the volume and aims at emphasising the importance of solidarity and subsidiarity for fostering common good within the general framework of the Catholic Social Teaching. Moreover, an attempt is made to enlighten the fundamental principles that should guide economic processes towards true human development.

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), R&D cooperation with sources of external knowledge is becoming increasingly essential for fostering innovation activities. This paper investigates the effects of collaboration on innovation by considering four different partner types: competitors, customers, suppliers, Universities and Government laboratories. Using firm-level data from the Community Innovation Survey for the years 2006-2008 (CIS 2008) and applying a Heckman probit model with sample selection, we analyse the determinants of cooperation and innovation probabilities for each type of partner. Results show that internal and external R&D acquisitions, public financial support, as well as belonging to a scientific sector or to a business group are significant determinants of the partners’choice for collaboration, although with different magnitude across various types of collaborations.

Il volume raccoglie i contributi presentati nel corso di due convegni internazionali, organizzati dalla Fondazione Centesimus Annus tra il 2010 e il 2011, aventi come tema la crisi che ha travolto il sistema socio-economico negli ultimi anni, analizzandone cause e possibili rimedi secondo l’inusuale punto di vista della dottrina sociale della Chiesa. Infatti, dopo la pubblicazione dell’Enciclica Caritas in Veritate di Benedetto XVI, il tema dello sviluppo del bene comune ha assunto una sempre maggiore rilevanza nel panorama socio-politico italiano e internazionale. Il lavoro si inserisce nella collana “Fondazione Centesimus Annus Pro Pontefice” ed è rivolto a tutti gli imprenditori e i dirigenti cristiani, ma anche alle famiglie e agli studenti delle facoltà economiche.

Il saggio si propone di esplicitare un modello di ibridazione tra aziende for profit e non profit, analizzando il processo di cambiamento generato dalla collaborazione tra le due classi di organizzazioni e le potenzialità delle partnership profit-non profit.

This paper analyses strategic investment games between two firms that compete for the adoption of a new more efficient technology whose returns are uncertain. We assume that once one of the two firms adopted the new technology, joint adoption is preferable for both firms, that is there are positive profit complementarities in the product market. There are, moreover, externalities derivig from the first firm’s investment. By modelling the switch from a well established technology to a new one as a dynamic stochastic game, we fully characterize the equilibria of the game under both non-cooperative and cooperative firms’ behaviour. We show that in the cooperative equilibrium firms will invest later under negative externalities and earlier under positive externalities. Thus we identify circumstances in which competiton can be suboptimal (too much waiting). Overall, compared to earlier models that only allow for a new market game, our model examines a richer set of strategic interactions of adoption decisions.

The essay is a short introduction to the book and provides an overview of the main issues addressed in the volume. Overall the papers included in the book analyse a broad set of issues such as the trajectories to exit the crisis and moving towards reconstruction; the changing structure of the world economic governance; several conceptual ideas on a theory of development without growth theory; new perspectives on fundamental rights. In this introduction an attempt is made to enlighten the fundamental principles that should guide economic processes towards true human development.

La gravissima crisi economico-finanziaria che nel biennio 2008-2009 ha colpito i Paesi industrializzati e quelli in via di sviluppo ha mostrato in modo evidente come lo straordinario cambiamento avvenuto negli ultimi decenni nelle economie emergenti abbia profondamente modificato la natura delle relazioni economiche tra i Paesi ricchi e il resto del mondo. È ormai evidente come sia da ripensare un paradigma di crescita che, pur non essendo l'unico in atto, è stato certamente dominante negli ultimi venti anni. Un paradigma che si è basato sull'idea che il mercato sappia sempre auto-regolarsi e che l'individualismo spinto sia una necessità per il progresso laddove i soccombenti meritano d'essere tali non avendo avuto successo. Sono queste solo alcune delle tematiche affrontate nei saggi raccolti in questo volume che riporta, con minimi aggiustamenti e revisioni, i contributi presentati e dibattuti nel Convegno internazionale organizzato dalla Fondazione Centesimus Annus - Pro Pontifice svoltosi nella Città del Vaticano il giorno 12 giugno 2009. I diversi contributi esaminano, sotto il profilo economico, politico e sociale, tenendo anche conto delle prospettive culturali, le caratteristiche di un modello di sviluppo che sia basato sulle categorie della sussidiarietà e della solidarietà, che sappia garantire con la crescita economica anche lo sviluppo che "non deve essere inteso in un modo esclusivamente economico, ma in senso integralmente umano

The essay is a short introduction to the volume. Its purpose is not to give a detailed account of the various papers but instead, on the one hand, to introduce the reader to the main themes analyzed and discussed in the book and, on the other, to shed light on the underlying principles of the Catholic Social Teaching.

The book collects contributions presented and discussed during International Conferences and Consultations organized by the “Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice” Foundation (CAPPF) in the two-year period 2015 – 2016. In particular, articles here reported derive from two International Conferences held in the Vatican (“Rethinking Key Features of Economic and Social Life”, 25-27 May 2015, and “Business initiative in the fight against poverty. The Refugee Emergency, our Challenge”, 12-14 May 2016) and an International Consultation held in Malta (“A Dialogue on Finance and the Common Good”, 29-30 January 2016). Summary reports and fi nal proposals of the meetings are also included in the volume. Specifically, three dramatic issues, here envisaged as true global threats, are considered. First the refugee emergency, currently one of the most compelling humanitarian challenges confronting governments around the world. Then the challenges of non-inclusive growth and, more generally, the difficulties faced to achieve true human development and, finally, the ethical issues involved in designing and implementing effective financial reforms. The common thread running through all the contributions is that the future of human beings is today in jeopardy as a result of a number of interlinked and highly dependent phenomena such as excessive consumption in rich countries, inequality between and within countries, extreme poverty, migration, violence, environmental degradation. What we need today is a resolute determination to change behavior at all levels. Politicians, leaders and single citizens in their daily action have all to be far more sensitive than they are today to the common well-being. They should seriously start taking care of both the others and the environment. This requires a difficult and challenging cultural change, but it is necessary if we are willing to effectively face the present global emergencies. The book includes an Introduction by Giovanni Marseguerra (CAPPF S

The paper analyzes the interaction between investment and financing decisions in a real option framework. In our model, the owner of an undeveloped real estate property (the asset in place) has the option to decide whether and when to develop/abandon his property. We show that debt financing induces the firm to invest earlier than in the pure equity financing case. Moreover, the incentive to anticipate the investment decisions increases with the amount of debt. I

The essay is a short introduction to the book and provides an overview of the main issues addressed in the volume. Overall the papers included in the book analyse a broad set of issues such as the need to place any enquiry on social capital within an appropriate anthropological framework; several conceptual ideas and empirical findings regarding the role of education in development; the need to emphasize the social aspects of any business firm. In this introduction an attempt is made to enlighten the principles that should guide economic processes towards true human development.

Questa nota si propone di esaminare alcuni dei principali risultati dell’indagine su “Sussidiarietà e PMI” svolta dalla Fondazione per la Sussidiarietà, inquadrando gli stessi all’interno della moderna teoria dell’impresa di famiglia.

Il saggio esamina il ruolo delle reti di capitale sociale nel sistema produttivo italiano. Si mostra in particolare come i motori della competitività nell’economia della conoscenza siano sempre più il capitale umano e il capitale sociale, la cui interazione genera a sua volta lo sviluppo attraverso l’innovazione.

Il saggio esamina il ruolo delle imprese di famiglia nel sistema produttivo italiano e si mostra in particolare come le stesse siano cruciali nel nostro peculiare modello di sviluppo caratterizzato da una straordinaria e vitale capacità imprenditoriale, ovvero capacità di fare impresa, di creare nuove forme di attività economica e far nascere nuovi imprenditori.