- Understanding the links between international trade, multinational firm growth and innovation

- Strengthening the economic foundations for the analysis of global issues 

- Developing analytical tools for the empirical analysis of Foreign Direct Investment, International Fragmentation of Production, Global Value Chains and International Technology Tranfer and Spillovers

This 5 hour module is part of the 10 hour course delivered as a mandatory activity for all PhD students of the XXXIX cycle of the Urbino PhD in Global Studies, delivered jointly by professor D.Castellani, HBS, Reading University, and by professor Zanfei.   Attendance of master classes and seminars will be integral part of the learning activity offered by this course

The course in its entirety will examine the theoretical and empirical literature on international production, international trade and the links between them, with a particular focus on the role of multinational firms in the globalisation of R&D and in the international fragmentation of production. Main topics covered:

1.  Multinational Firms, FDIs and cross-border location decisions

2.  The links between innovation and international trade and international production

3.  The geography or production, R&D and innovation

This module will cover mainly topics 1 and 2 listed above.

The course relies on basic knowledge in Economics, International Trade and International Business among the courses mandatory for all in the previous terms. Applications will take advantage from statistical and econometric knowledge accumulated. Further develoopments and connections can be found in courses on Innovation, Global Value Chains and Environmental economics, delivered in the Thematic sub-Area 1 (Economics and Management of Globalisation)

The course will yield abilities to collect and understand information on the different dimensions of globalisation: international movements of capital and knowledge. Learning activities will include: lectures, seminars, discussions of case studies, homeworks, papers and class work.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

participation in masterclasses at Reading both online and in person will be interal part of the course; attendance of seminars lateral to classwork will also complement standard classwork

Teaching

classwork combined with seminars and IB masterclasses at Reading, UK

Innovative teaching methods

classwork will include collective conceptual exercises; participation in masterclasses at Reading both online and in person will be interal part of the course

Attendance

Mandatory attendance as for all teaching, seminars and workshops of the PhD Programme 

Course books

A partial reading list (mainly articles and chapters, not entire books). While all the readings are of interest for the whole course, texts most relevant to this module are highlighted with the following symbol: (*). The remaining texts are more relevant to the module taught by professor Castellani.

‒  Beugelsdijk Sjoerd, Brakman Steven, Garretsen Harry, van Marrewijk Charles, and van Witteloostuijn Arjen. 2013. International Economics and Business: Nations and Firms in the Global Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapters 4 and 6

‒  Castellani D. (2018) The Changing Geography of Innovation and the Role of Multinational Enterprises, in G. Cook, J. Johns, F. McDonald, J. Beaverstock and N. Pandit (eds) The Routledge Companion to International Business and Economic Geography, Routledge. Available at https://www.henley.ac.uk/research/discussion-paper-series

‒  Castellani D., Zanfei A. (2006), Multinational firms, innovation and productivity, E.Elgar, Celtenham, 2006 (paperback edition 2007), Chapters 1 and 2 (*)

‒  Melitz, Marc J., and Stephen J. Redding (2014). "Heterogeneous firms and trade." Handbook of international economics. Vol. 4. Elsevier,. 1-54.

‒  M.Papanastassiou, R.Pearce, A.Zanfei (2020) Changing perspectives on the internationalization of R&D and innovation by multinational enterprises: A review of the literature, Journal of International Business Studies, DOI : 10.1057/s41267-019-00258-0 (*)

‒  Coveri, A., & Zanfei, A. 2023. Who wins the race for knowledge-based competitiveness? Comparing European and North American FDI patterns. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 48(1): 292–330 (first published online in 2022). DOI: 10.1007/s10961-021-09911-z (*)

 Additional and substitutive readings will be indicated before and during classes.

Assessment

a paper of up to 3000 words on one of the topics covered in the course by both reference lecturers (Castellani and Zanfei), to be agreed upon with the lecturers 

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

not applicable:  see attending students' section. Mandatory attendace for all XXXIX cycle students, including the ones from other PhD programmes choosing this course as elective activity

Attendance

not applicable:  see attending students' section. Mandatory attendace for all XXXIX cycle students, including the ones from other PhD programmes choosing this course as elective activity

Course books

not applicable:  see attending students' section. Mandatory attendace for all XXXIX cycle students, including the ones from other PhD programmes choosing this course as elective activity

Assessment

not applicable:  see attending students' section. Mandatory attendace for all XXXIX cycle students, including the ones from other PhD programmes choosing this course as elective activity

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

This 5 hour module taught by professor Zanfei is part of the 10 hour course delivered as a mandatory activity for all PhD students of the XXXIX cycle of the Urbino PhD in Global Studies, delivered jointly with professor D.Castellani, HBS, Reading University.   Attendance of master classes and seminars will be integral part of the learning activity offered by this course