This research area focuses on the relationship between globalization and economic development. Within this area, one branch analyzes the internationalization of firms in their multiple facets, among which the import and export of inputs, products and services, the de-localization of production and tasks, and foreign direct investments. This branch studies both the determinants of internationalization choices and their effects at the firm level (performance, labor demand, workforce composition) as well as at the level of the countries of origin and destination. A second branch concerns the study of the movements of people, their impact on different dimensions of the economic performance in the destination economies and of the labor conditions of foreign workers. In both branches, strong emphasis is given to the role of public policies, the adoption of new technologies and environmental aspects. The methods are mainly empirical, with the use of econometric tools.
