Scelte localizzative delle imprese multinazionali e migrazioni qualificate

[Autom. eng. transl.] Globalization is a very complex phenomenon that affects contemporary society as a whole. From an economic point of view its distinctive feature is represented by the integration of the markets and international activities with added value of the companies, in such a way as to create an indissoluble link between the prosperity of the company and its production or its activity of marketing abroad. This new economic framework includes foreign direct investment (IDE), which has become the engine of globalization, favoring the spread of technology, skills and know-how; FDI is in fact one of the tools that lead to a deep structural integration between countries, as not only the resources and capacities of one country are transferred to another, but their use, as well as that of the complementary activities of the host country, they are controlled or influenced by companies that implement the transfer of resources and technology. The policies of attraction of FDI and globalization go in the same direction: each influences the other. Certainly it was the progressive liberalization of the national policy framework that represented one of the key driving forces of globalization as we know it today: the increase in international production by multinational companies (IMN). At the same time, progress in trade liberalization as well as technology in communications and transport has allowed the IMNs to increasingly pursue regional and global strategies and to integrate their productive structures on a regional and global basis; which in turn has created incentives for the liberalization of FDI policies. These are therefore two processes that reinforce each other. Furthermore, globalization has stimulated the international flows of workers on an unprecedented scale. In fact: - Technological change entails an increase in the demand for skilled workers and, consequently, a temporary shortage can be verified which can be tackled thanks to international labor mobility. - Globalization creates a greater demand for international knowledge, in terms of different languages, markets, cultures and so on. - More and more the products are differentiated to meet the tastes of individual consumers, requiring greater flexibility and mobility. The overall effect is the increased demand for international mobility of skilled workers. The relationship between qualified domestic and foreign workers can be complementary or substitutable. In the first case, foreign workers have knowledge and skills that domestic workers do not have, so there is a difference in skills and qualifications. In the second, both categories have the same skills, but the recruitment of foreign workers is a consequence of a temporary shortage in the country. Normally, the studies analyze the impact of skilled-migrations on FDI flows, while in the present work the interest is directed to the explanation of reverse causality, that is how FDI can influence the migratory flows that affect developing countries. This research aims to contribute to the literature by analyzing if and by what mechanisms FDI can significantly influence the determinants of migration decisions.