This report responds to the need of the Regional Government of Lazio to shed new light on the role of the regional economy in global investment flows and to design policy tools able to reinforce the linkages between global and local actors. The Report explores strengths and weaknesses of the regional economy with special reference to the relationships between Italian and foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in the Lazio region, large companies, local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their territorial context. The ‘diagnosis’ of the regional economic system relies on the triangulation of a variety of sources. A SWOTanalysis developed by the Regional Government has been coupled by the views of other local actors (SMEs, public research centers and universities) mobilized by means of an open Call for Proposals. Leveraging on these important elements of ‘territorial self-diagnosis’, the Report uses a variety of investigation methods – quantitative and qualitative, top-down and bottom-up – in order to:
a) place the Lazio in the European and global context in relation to the structural features of its economy and its position in global investment flows;
b) compare the structure and nature of global investment flows targeting the Lazio region;
c) identify the relationships (and the possible barriers to their formation) between domestic and foreign MNEs and local actors; and
d) develop some comparative case studies in order to identify relevant experiences in other EU countries to support policy actions in the Lazio region.
The overall objective of the Report is to provide the Regional Government and other regional stakeholders with a solid information basis for the development of innovative policies in order to increase the value added produced in the region and to enhance its international competitiveness.