Workshop "The future of production: digitalization, global value chains, green transition"
6 - 7 July 2022
A two-day workshop on the evolution of the productive structure in light of current societal challenges, hosted by the Institute of Economics and the Young Scholars Initiative.
The recent shocks to international production have highlighted, on the one hand, that manufacturing is still the "backbone of our economies". On the other hand, that it is far more vulnerable than what we had thought. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how easily international production chains can be disrupted. Further, the needed green transition poses challenges that are hardly matched by current industrial and innovation policies. The return of war in Europe has emphasized the need to accelerate the energy transition. These challenges need to be tackled accounting also for the new technological paradigms affecting the international division of labor and, even more, for the workforce's skill structure.
Building upon the 2022 UNIDO Industrial Development Report, the initiative intends to foster the discussion on the renewed importance of the industrial sector and how to improve its resilience, favoring a debate among young and senior scholars.
Three sessions feature cutting-edge contributions on core domains of analyses to interpret the upcoming challenges of the industrial sector by integrating perspectives from evolutionary, structuralist and complexity economics. The first one is dedicated to the challenge of digitalization and adoption of 4.0 technologies faced by firms and sectors in the current post-pandemic phase. The second session targets the dangers and opportunities deriving from Global Value Chains integration, focusing on employment dynamics and the changing geography of production. The third session discusses the possible policy recommendations for a sustainable transition, with particular insights on how this relates to the role and distribution of green FDIs and to the development of green technologies. A final roundtable hosts contributions of leading scholars discussing the 2022 UNIDO Industrial Development Report, titled 'The Future of Industrialization in a Post-Pandemic World'.
The workshop will take place in hybrid format. For those willing to participate in person, the event will be held at the Sant’ Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, in the main building.
How to Participate
▪ In person:
- July 6th: Aula 3, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33.
- July 7: Aula Magna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà, 33.
▪ Online:
Day one: Link Webex (registration needed)
Day two: Link Webex (registration needed)
6 July 2022
Session 1 Digitalization and 4.0 technologies: firm and sectoral evidences
14.30-16.00
Chair: Bernardo Caldarola
Discussant: Daniele Moschella
Flavio Calvino (OECD)
“Closing the Italian digital gap: The role of skills, intangibles and policies”
Elisa Calza (UNU-MERIT)
“Advanced digital technologies and industrial resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A firm-level perspective”
Ekaterina Prytkova (SPRU, University of Sussex)
“Exposure to Emerging Automation Technologies”
Session 2 The changing geography of production
16.30-18.00
Chair: Federico Riccio
Discussant: Maria Enrica Virgillito
Filippo Bontadini (LUISS and SPRU, University of Sussex )
“Nearshoring, Farsharing and Employment in Europe”
Michele Mancini (European Central Bank)
“Measuring Exposure to Risk in Global Value Chains”
Petr Pavlínek (University of Nebraska Omaha)
“Relative positions of countries in the core-periphery structure of the European automotive industry”
Social Dinner: 20.30
7 July 2022
Session 3 Greening economies: energy, technology and design
14.30-16.00
Chair: Sebastiano Cattaruzzo
Discussant: Francesco Lamperti
Roberta Rabellotti (Università di Pavia)
“Green foreign direct investments and the deepening of capabilities for sustainable innovation in multinationals”
Nicolò Barbieri (Università di Ferrara)
“The evolving boundary of green technologies”
Claudia Ghisetti (Università di Milano - Bicocca)
“Design and environmental technologies: Does ‘green-matching’ actually help?”
Coffee Break: 16.00-16.30
Final roundtable Contemporary challenges for Industrial Policies: a discussion around the last UNIDO report
16.30-18.00
Chair: Lorenzo Cresti
Presenter:
Alejandro Lavopa - (UNIDO, UNU-MERIT )
Discussants:
Orsola Costantini - (UNCTAD)
Giovanni Dosi - (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies)
Antonio Andreoni - (UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose)
The Organizing Committee:
Bernardo Caldarola
Sebastiano Cattaruzzo
Lorenzo Cresti
Federico Riccio