Italy

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the standard measure of the value of final goods and services produced by a country during a period minus the value of imports. This subset of Aggregate National Accounts comprises comprehensive statistics on gross domestic product (GDP) by presenting the three different approaches of its measure of GDP: output based GDP, expenditure based GDP and income based GDP. These three different measures of gross domestic product (GDP) are further detailed by transactions whereby: the output approach includes gross value added at basic prices, taxes less subsidies, statistical discrepancy; the expenditure approach includes domestic demand, gross capital formation, external balance of goods and services; and the income approach includes variables such as compensation of employees, gross operating surplus, taxes and production and imports. Gross domestic product (GDP) data are measured in national currency and are available in current prices, constant prices and per capita starting from 1950 onwards.

Social protection systems use a range of entitlement criteria. First-tier support typically requires contributions or past employment in many countries, while safety net benefits are granted on the basis of need. In a context of volatile and uncertain labour markets, careful and continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of income support is a key input into an evidence-based policy process. This paper proposes a novel empirical method for monitoring the accessibility and levels of safety net benefits. It focusses on minimum-income benefits (MIB) and other non-contributory transfers and relies on data on the amounts of cash support that individuals in need receive in practice. Results show that accessibility and benefit levels differ enormously across countries – for instance, in 2015/16, more than four out of five low-income workless one-person households received MIB in Australia, France and the United Kingdom, compared to only one in five in Greece, Italy and Korea, three countries that have since sought to strengthen aspects of safety-net provisions.

The COVID-19 crisis has had a profound impact on SME access to finance. In particular, the sudden drop in revenues created acute liquidity shortages, threatening the survival of many viable businesses. The report documents an increase in demand for bank lending in the first half of 2020, and a steady supply of credit thanks to government interventions. On the other hand, other sources of finance declined, in particular early-stage equity.

This paper, a special edition of Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs, focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on SME access to finance, along with government policy responses. It reveals that the pre-crisis financing environment was broadly favourable for SMEs and entrepreneurs, who benefited from low interest rates, loose credit standards and an increasingly diverse offer of financing instruments.

It documents the unprecedented scope and scale of the policy responses undertaken by governments world-wide, and details their key characteristics, and outlines the principal issues and policy challenges for the next phases of the pandemic, such as the over-indebtedness of SMEs and the need to continue to foster a diverse range of financing instruments for SMEs.

Ce rapport est une édition spéciale du Tableau de bord de l’OCDE sur le financement des PME et des entrepreneurs, publication phare de l’OCDE. Il examine en détail les conséquences du COVID-19 sur l’accès des PME au financement, ainsi que les mesures prises en conséquence par les pouvoirs publics. Il apparaît qu’avant la crise, les conditions de financement étaient globalement favorables pour les PME et les entrepreneurs, qui bénéficiaient de faibles taux d’intérêt, de critères accommodants d’octroi des crédits et d’une offre de plus en plus diversifiée d’instruments de financement. Mais la crise du COVID‑19 a profondément bouleversé l’accès des PME au financement. Plus particulièrement, l’effondrement brutal du chiffre d’affaires des entreprises a provoqué de graves pénuries de liquidités qui ont mis en danger la survie de bon nombre d’entreprises viables. Ce rapport fait état d’une augmentation de la demande de prêts bancaires au cours du premier semestre de 2020, et d’une stabilité de l’offre de crédit grâce à l’action des pouvoirs publics. Parallèlement, on a observé un recul d’autres sources de financement, en particulier l’apport de fonds propres au stade du démarrage. Le rapport réunit des données sur le périmètre et l’ampleur des mesures prises par les gouvernements dans le monde, et en précise les principales caractéristiques. Il décrit les principaux enjeux stratégiques du financement des PME qui se poseront au cours des prochaines phases de la pandémie ; il s’agira en effet d’éviter le surendettement des PME, de promouvoir une gamme diversifiée d’instruments de financement, de stimuler la création d’entreprises et de renforcer la résilience des PME par des mesures structurelles.

This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of innovative start-up firms in Trentino, a high-income mountainous area in the North East of Italy. This work is part of a series of thematic papers on regional start-up landscapes in Italy, produced by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development. Following the 2018 OECD Evaluation of the Italian Start-up Act, which embraced a national perspective, it represents a first attempt to analyse the impact of this policy at the local level. Among Italian regions, Trentino boasts the highest density of registered innovative start-ups over all young firms established locally. However, innovative start-ups spread unevenly throughout this territory, concentrating in urban areas. Female and young founders are less prevalent than in Italy at large. Firm dynamism, in particular high-growth and exit trends, the uptake of emerging technologies among local start-ups as well as their propensity to use national incentives are other key areas of this work, which concludes with a set of evidence-based recommendations for policy makers.

This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of innovative start-up firms in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, an autonomous region situated at the extreme North East of the Italian territory, bordering with Austria and Slovenia. This work is part of a series of thematic papers on sub-national start-up landscapes in Italy, produced by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development. Following the 2018 OECD Evaluation of the Italian Start-up Act, which embraced a national perspective, it represents a first attempt to analyse the impact of this policy at the local level. Friuli-Venezia Giulia hosts a polycentric, mainly urban start-up landscape, with a low prevalence of female and young founders. Its historical sub-regions of Friuli and Venezia Giulia present remarkable differences under several perspectives, including the industrial composition of their start-ups, the spread of emerging technologies among them and their propensity to use national incentives. Firm dynamism, notably high-growth and exit trends, constitutes another major focus of this work, which concludes with a set of evidence-based recommendations for policy-makers.

The characteristics of innovative start-up firms in South Tyrol, the northernmost province of Italy, entirely mountainous, hosting a high-income population belonging to three main language groups. This work is part of a series of thematic papers on sub-national start-up landscapes in Italy, produced by the OECD Trento Centre for Local Development. It represents a first attempt to analyse the effect of the Italian policy framework for young innovative firms at the local level. South Tyrol is home to a relatively small number of registered innovative start-ups, pointing to the presence of obstacles to policy transfer. Evidence suggests that language barriers may play a critical role. Firm dynamism, in particular high-growth and exit trends, the spread of emerging technologies among local start-ups as well as their propensity to uptake national incentives are other major focuses of this work, which concludes with a set of evidence-based recommendations for policy-makers.

Questo rapporto esamina lo sviluppo dell'ecosistema delle blockchain in Italia, sulla base della struttura e delle tendenze delle PMI e dell’imprenditoria nel Paese. Il rapporto analizza in particolare le caratteristiche e le tendenze delle aziende che introducono servizi basati sulla tecnologia blockchain nel mercato italiano, le opportunità e le sfide per lo sviluppo della loro attività economica, i settori e le imprese interessate e la pertinenza dell’azione volta a migliorare la digitalizzazione e la produttività nel settore delle PMI in generale. Il rapporto illustra altresì le tendenze recenti in materia di regolamentazione e di politiche pubbliche e propone raccomandazioni in merito a queste ultime.

La révolution technologique qui a marqué les dernières décennies du XXe siècle a entraîné une forte augmentation de la demande de facultés de traitement de l’information et d’autres compétences cognitives et interpersonnelles sur le marché du travail. Sur la base des résultats des 33 pays et régions ayant participé aux deux premières vagues de l'Enquête sur les compétences des adultes en 2011-12 et 2014-15, ce rapport décrit les compétences dans trois domaines de traitement de l'information et examine comment les compétences sont liées au marché du travail et aux résultats sociaux. Il décrit notamment les résultats des six pays ayant participé à la troisième vague du premier cycle du PIAAC en 2017-18 (Équateur, États-Unis, Hongrie, Kazakhstan, Mexique et Pérou).

L’Évaluation des compétences des adultes, un produit du Programme de l’OCDE pour l’évaluation internationale des compétences des adultes (PIAAC), a été conçue pour montrer dans quelle mesure les individus possèdent certaines de ces facultés et compétences clés et comment ils les utilisent dans le cadre professionnel et dans la vie privée. Cette enquête, la première du genre, évalue directement le niveau de compétence dans trois domaines du traitement de l’information : la littératie, la numératie et la résolution de problèmes.

Il Comitato di Aiuto allo Sviluppo dell’OCSE (DAC) conduce esami periodici degli sforzi di cooperazione dei singoli Paesi membri del Comitato. Le politiche e i programmi di ogni singolo Paese membro del DAC sono esaminati con un approccio analitico, ogni cinque anni circa. Le valutazioni tra pari (peer review) del DAC valutano le prestazioni di un determinato Paese membro del Comitato – non solo i risultati ottenuti dall’agenzia per lo sviluppo alla cooperazione del Paese – ed esaminano sia le politiche pubbliche sia la loro attuazione. Le valutazioni tra pari adottano una prospettiva integrata ed estesa a tutto il sistema sulle attività della cooperazione e dell’assistenza umanitaria del Paese membro esaminato.

L'Italia è fortemente impegnata nell’azione multilaterale e utilizza il suo potere di mobilitazione e la sua esperienza nel campo della cooperazione affinché il Paese sia un attore di primo piano su questioni come l’agricoltura e il patrimonio culturale. L’impegno del Paese a non lasciare nessuno indietro è particolarmente evidente attraverso il focus sul genere e sulla disabilità. Tuttavia, il Paese potrebbe trarre vantaggio dall’inversione del recente andamento decrescente degli Aiuti pubblici allo sviluppo (APS), costruendo una forza lavoro più solida e con migliori competenze, istituendo un approccio coerente e globale di tutti i livelli di governo alle migrazioni e allo sviluppo, creando un sistema di gestione volto ai risultati.

The note provides a preliminary inventory of the policy responses adopted by the Italian regions to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chapter 1 focuses on the repercussions on the Italian economy. Chapter 2 provides an overview of national policy responses. Chapter 3 explains the role regions play within Italy’s institutional setting regarding economic development, particularly SME policy. Chapter 4 provides a regional deep dive on the measures put in place by the regions to support SMEs during the pandemic. Chapter 5 provides a summary of the main findings.

This working document will be periodically updated and enriched with further analytical insights in the coming weeks.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the standard measure of the value of final goods and services produced by a country during a period minus the value of imports. This subset of Aggregate National Accounts comprises comprehensive statistics on gross domestic product (GDP) by presenting the three different approaches of its measure of GDP: output based GDP, expenditure based GDP and income based GDP. These three different measures of gross domestic product (GDP) are further detailed by transactions whereby: the output approach includes gross value added at basic prices, taxes less subsidies, statistical discrepancy; the expenditure approach includes domestic demand, gross capital formation, external balance of goods and services; and the income approach includes variables such as compensation of employees, gross operating surplus, taxes and production and imports. Gross domestic product (GDP) data are measured in national currency and are available in current prices, constant prices and per capita starting from 1950 onwards.