The Impact of Public Support on SMEs' Outward FDI: Evidence from Italy
研究了1994-2008年间意大利中小企业获得公共支持后对外直接投资的表现，发现激励措施能提升国内营业额和生产率，尤其对年轻小企业效果更佳。
This paper evaluates the impact of public financial support to the internationalization of small and medium enterprises. We analyze the growth performance of firms that conducted outward foreign direct investments in the period 1994–2008, comparing firms that benefited from public support (380) with a sample of firms that also internationalized their activity in the same period but without any incentive (508). The econometric results, stemming from a two‐step treatment effect model, reveal that incentives are effective in enhancing firms' performance in terms of domestic turnover and productivity growth, especially when they are targeted at smaller and younger firms. Moreover, the effect of the incentives is enhanced for firms that have accumulated international experience.