In Italy, if they do not die, they remain in the small-size limbo for a long time: the proportion of small, mature firms (those in operation for at least ten years) is over 50 per cent here, compared with 45 per cent in Spain and 40 per cent in the United States and France.
3 Encouraging new start-ups, convincing existing entrepreneurs to expand their firms by separating them from the founding family’s fortunes, rewarding courage and inventiveness, and discouraging rents: these are the priorities of economic policy in Italy today.