This book analyzes Italy's external competitiveness in detail and introduces a new index, devised by Marco Fortis and Stefano Corradini for Fondazione Edison, that highlights the strengths of Italy's foreign trade. Compared with the Trade Performance Index compiled and updated annually by UNCTAD/WTO's International Trade Centre, the Fortis-Corradini Index (FCI) provides greater sectorial detail by referring to 5117 products identified according to the six-digit HS 1996 international classification available on the UN Comtrade database. The new index confirms that, contrary to widespread...