The role of subsidies in promoting Italian joint ventures in least developed and transition economies

This paper analyses the impact of subsidies for the promotion of Italian joint ventures (JVs) aimed at LDCs and transition economies. The empirical analysis is carried out on a unique dataset of 172 JVs interviewed during 1998 by means of a closed-answer qualitative-quantitative questionnaire. The main finding of the study is that, although there is a significant deadweight component in incentive policy, the subsidized firms are significantly more likely to grow. Moreover, the JVs comprising new firms (which need to grow to survive) also have a higher employment performance than average, as do the (labour intensive) JVs motivated by the search for lower labour costs, and the JVs in east European countries.