Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with the conceptual tools to understand the peculiarities of the Italian economy. Their operational knowledge will enable students to develop a proper awareness of the importance of environments (national and local) in which businesses operate for their international competitiveness. This is the theoretical frame of reference for the debate on the development of the Italian economy and its major changes: from the decline of the "big business" to the discovery of the widespread presence in the country's industrial structure of populations of small businesses able to withstand the competition in world markets because of their organization in industrial districts, and the return of medium-sized enterprises: the so-called "Fourth Capitalism". Finally, the problem of the crisis of the Italian economy will be addressed from the side of policies. This will allow students to assess what institutions can do to support and defend the competitive advantage of firms and the national economy as a whole.