Full Description
This edited collection presents an interdisciplinary assessment of the impact of migration on knowledge transmission and entrepreneurial innovation. Focusing on Italian migration to Europe and the Americas, the book analyses the socioeconomic transformations enabled by migration and fills an important gap in the literature on the economic history of migration.
Featuring contributions from fifteen scholars from around the world, the book presents a range of case studies and archival research that shows how the transmission of knowledge and skills, passed on by migrants in destination countries, represents a less-known but crucial aspect of the migration phenomenon. Chapters discuss the impact of Italian migrants in a range of contexts, with their entrepreneurial, professional, manual and craft skills significantly contributing to economic, cultural and industrial development in countries such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil and the US. Chapters bring out larger themes such as technological innovation, educational practices, institutional and public policies and experiences of short-term or temporary migration. The interdisciplinary framework of the book, bringing together economic historians, architects and sociologists, fosters unique perspectives and enriches our understanding of the economic impact of migration beyond simply linear economic growth. This will be a valuable resource for researchers of economic and business history, as well historians of migration, sociologists and demographers.
Contents
Chapter 1: Migration as innovation and "knowledge trasmission". An Introduction.- Chapter 2: Learning and capabilities: Italian immigration as a bridge of knowledge in the Argentine agricultural sector.- Chapter 3: Professional knowledge for the peaceful Italian colonisation of the 'Republica del Plata'. From the hydraulic works of the Upper Rio Negro Valley to the foundation of Villa Regina.- Chapter 4: Economic formation of the Italian colonial region in southern Brazil: from colonial agriculture to the industrialization of the region.- Chapter 5: From Trentino to Brazil: the history and topicality of Trentino emigration.- Chapter 6: Impact of Italian Immigration on Chile's Economic and Industrial Development.- Chapter 7: Italian Migrations to and from Chile: Intercultural Dialogues.- Chapter 8: Cultural Exchange and Influence Across the Atlantic Ocean: Lorenzo Da Ponte and Others.- Chapter 9: Sorting through the 'unfathomable mess' of American productivity: Italian managers' exploration of scientific management and U.S. industrial plants.- Chapter 10: The Role of the United States and Italian Emigration in the Success of Made in Italy. Second Half of the 20th Century.- Chapter 11: Italian Transnational Traces. Reading migratory phenomena through design.
