It's a match! Linking foreign counterparts in Italian customs data to their balance sheets

Abstract

This paper describes the methodology underlying the matching between extra-EU counterparts in the Italian Customs and Monopolies Agency data with firms in the Bureau van Dijk Orbis database. Through different validation exercises, we show that the matches stemming from our proposed procedure are largely correct regarding both records and transaction values. The resulting corresponding tables can serve as a useful tool to shed light on the features of the counterparts of Italian firms active in international trade.