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Essays on the dynamics of productivity at the firm level: the role of finance

D'Alfonso, Elena (2009) Essays on the dynamics of productivity at the firm level: the role of finance. Advisor: Coricelli, Prof. Fabrizio. pp. 117. [IMT PhD Thesis]

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Abstract

During the last ten years, Italian growth has lagged behind other European countries. This delay has been mainly attributed to a slowdown in Italian firms productivity. A large body of literature has deepened the role of finance, among other factors, in spurring economic growth. The present work investigates some of these processes, through three different frameworks. Chapter 1 is an application of the Rajan Zingales (1998) approach to the Italian case. In this application a proxy for financial development at regional levels was built up using qualitative information. The results point out that the Italian financial market is still segmented at regional levels, in particular for smaller firms that are more dependent on the proximity of financial services. Moreover, it suggests that the effect of financial development could be even higher assuming the external dependence computed on German and not U.S. listed firms. Chapter 2 focuses on the effectiveness of financial systems in allocating the resources to the most efficient firms. In this chapter, we test whether firms’ financial strategies explain the distance of a sample of Italian firms to the efficiency frontier. The results point out that a tighter relationship with banks or a higher contendibility of corporate control are correlated to a more efficient production. Chapter 3 focuses on the effects that different financial instruments have on R&D strategies and on productivity. As the results suggest, in fact, the nature and duration of different financial instruments could have an impact on firm innovation strategies.

Item Type: IMT PhD Thesis
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
PhD Course: Economics, Markets, Institutions
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.6092/imtlucca/e-theses/37
NBN Number: [error in script]
Date Deposited: 10 Jul 2012 14:52
URI: http://e-theses.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/37

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