Italy

The preponderance of small firms is a well-known characteristic of the Italian economy. One of the most important pillars of the economy is the production of high-quality products such as in the machinery, textiles, industrial designs, alimentary and furniture sectors. Italy is performing well with regards to GDP per capita as compared to Regional and EU-28 mean. With regards to the total number of new PhD graduates in the total share of the active population, Italy stands slightly better than the EU-28, while only equal to the Regional mean. Consistent with the Adriatic Region as a whole, Italian SMEs show a relatively poor level of internationalisation, with the dominant presence being on the national market, followed by the presence in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The level of received support through innovation incentives from the government, Regional authorities and the EU is low for all measured forms of financing in both Italy and the Adriatic Region as a whole. In most cases, financial support came from local or Regional authorities.