Global Firms and Knowledge Diffusion

IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca
December 18–19, 2025

Thursday, December 18

11:45 – Welcoming Address

Lorenzo Casini, the Rector of the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca

12:00 – 13:00 Light lunch

13:00 – 14:15 Keynote Lecture - Innovation Leaders and the Global Diffusion of Knowledge ­ – Peter EGGER (ETH Zurich, CEPR, CESifo, WIFO)

14:45 – 16:15 Session 1 – Trade Liberalization and Technology Diffusion

Chairs: Armando RUNGI

-        More Trade, Less Diffusion: Technology Transfers and the Dynamic Effects of Import Liberalization – Gustavo DE SOUZA (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago), Ruben GAETANI (University of Toronto), Martí MESTIERI (IAE-CSIC, CREI, BSE,  CEPR)

-        Gravity in AI: How Digital Infrastructure Shapes Its Diffusion – Nuriye Melisa BILGIN (University of Turin), Gianmarco OTTAVIANO (Bocconi University, BAFFI, GREEN, IGIER, CEP, CEPR)

16;15 – 16; 45 Coffee break

16:45 – 18:15 Session 2 – Ideas, Innovation and Growth

Chairs: Farid TOUBAL

-        Growth is Getting Harder to Find, Not Ideas – Teresa C. FORT (Dartmouth College, U.S. Census Bureau, NBER, CEPR), Nathan Goldschlag (U.S. Census Bureau), Jack Liang (Yale University), Peter K. SCHOTT (Yale School of Management, NBER, CEPR, CESifo), Nikolas Zolas (U.S. Department of State)

-        Trade, Innovation and Optimal Patent Protection – David Hémous (University of Zurich and CEPR), Simon LEPOT (University of Zurich), Thomas SAMPSON (London School of Economics and CEPR), Julian Schärer (University of Zurich)

19:30 Social dinner

Friday, December 19

08:30 – 10:00   Session 3 – Organizing Innovation at Home and Abroad

Chairs: Gianluca SANTONI

-        Organizing Innovation: Firm-Level Responses after Shocks to Employment Contracts in Spain – Olga KUZMINA (New Economic School and CEPR), Catherine THOMAS (London School of Economics and CEPR)

-        Cross-Border Tax Arbitrage and Public R&D Subsidies – Elodie ANDRIEU (Paris School of Economics), Farid TOUBAL (Université Paris-Dauphine – PSL, CEPII, CESifo, CEPR)

10;00 – 10; 30 Coffee break

10:30 – 12:30   Session 4 – Multinational Firms and Knowledge Networks

Chairs: Kenan HUREMOVIĆ

-        Barriers to Knowledge Creation in the Multinational Firm – Çağatay BIRCAN (Amazon, UCL), Beata JAVORCIK (EBRD, University of Oxford and CEPR), Stefan Pauly (German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action)

-        Business Groups, Strategic Acquisitions and Innovation – Carlo ALTOMONTE (Bocconi University and CEPR), Nevine El Mallakh (Bocconi University), Tommaso Sonno (University of Bologna, CEP-LSE, BAFFI, CEPR)

-        Collaboration in Technology and Multinational Production – Sophia PRAETORIUS (Sciences Po, Paris School of Economics)

12:30 – 13:30   Light lunch

13:30 – 15:00   Session 5 – Skilled Immigration and Innovation

Chairs: Marianna MARINO

-        Skilled Immigration, Task Allocation and the Innovation of Firms – Anna Maria MAYDA (Georgetown University and CEPR), Gianluca Orefice (Université Paris-Dauphine – PSL), Gianluca Santoni (Paris School of Economics)

-        High-Skill Immigration, Offshore R&D, and Firm Dynamics – Jingting Fan (Penn State University), Eunhee Lee (Seoul National University), and Valerie SMEETS (Aarhus University and CEPR)

15;00 – 15; 30 Coffee break

15:30 – 17:00   Policy Roundtable – Keynote speaker: Daria TAGLIONI (World Bank);
ChairS: Armando RUNGI (IMT Lucca). Other participants: Anna RUOCCO (Confindustria), Nunzia SAPORITO (OECD).