Corporate mobility and macroeconomic statistics: evidence from the redomiciliations of Italian companies

This paper examines the instances of redomiciliation by Italian multinational enterprises (MNEs) between 2012 and 2024, focusing on their reasons, their macroeconomic impacts, and on the statistical challenges involved in the analysis. Over the period in question, sixteen Italian firms, with a total market capitalization of €280 billion, relocated their legal headquarters abroad. The largest share of firms moved to the Netherlands, largely motivated by the country's governance framework, which allows for multiple voting structures that strengthen the position of controlling shareholders. In most of the remaining cases, the redomiciliation followed the merger with a foreign competitor or a process of corporate restructuring. These redomiciliations significantly impacted Italy's macroeconomic statistics, particularly as regards its international portfolio and direct investment position, and slightly reduced gross national income (GNI). In the study, we highlight a number of conceptual and practical challenges for statisticians, including residency classification and data compilation, and underscore the need for international standards to address these issues. Monitoring and transparent reporting are crucial for countries affected by (such) corporate mobility.