Questioning Polycentric Development and its Effects. Issues of Definition and Measurement for the Italian NUTS-2 Regions

Abstract

Polycentric development is a widely-used term both in academic research and in the normative agenda. However, its theoretical foundations and economic implications are still unknown and the concept of polycentricity still does not have a shared definition, or a shared measurement method. The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly polycentricity is defined and measured at a NUTS 2 regional level, by comparing functional and morphological methods. Secondly, in the light of the role assigned to polycentric development in terms of policy, the paper investigates the relationships between the degree of regional polycentricity and the key economic variables of performance -namely competitiveness, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. The main finding was that functional and morphological methods led to similar results. In addition, a correlation was found between polycentricity and a more unequal income distribution and a higher level of productivity, especially when polycentricity was measured in functional terms. No stable correlations were found between polycentricity and measures of environmental sustainability, such as land consumption and greenhouse emissions.

Determinants of Hungarian Sub-Regions’ Territorial Capital

“…Economic capital shows the economic performance of the region, Camagni calls these rivalry and tangible goods. A lot of scholars used similar indices in the case of measurement of economic capital Brasili, 2010;Veneri, 2011;Brasili et al, 2012). Furthermore, infrastructural capital contains the aptness and size of the elements of infrastructure -the same indicators were used in studies by Brasili, 2010;Russo et al, 2010;Brasili et al, 2012;Russo and Servillo, 2012. Institutional capital represents public institutions and their services.…”

“…It is typical that the homeless provider institution system functions in cities and metropolises (of course there are some exceptions), but public kitchens (kitchens for the poor) are concerned with groups living in social exclusion in small villages or towns. In general, local trust relations can be measured by observation of popular action and economic crimes (Russo et al, 2010;Veneri, 2011;Brasili et al, 2012).…”

“…The introduction of the concept of territorial capital was necessary because it has been proved that intangible goods play a major role (in the long term), besides tangible assets, in regional development and growth (Rota, 2010;Stimson et al, 2011;Veneri, 2011;Camagni-Capello, 2013;.…”

Territorial Development

“…Surprisingly, several authors use the term without any specific definition, but rather use implied definitions (Maier et al, 2009;Veneri and Burgalassi, 2010). This research considers the term as development within a territory based on spatial balance and equity of settlements in geographical, political, social and economic terms.…”

“…Though usually applied to urban regions or territories, this research calls for its application to rural areas as well. In fact, the terms polycentrism or polycentric development is synonymous to territorial development in some literatures because (Veneri and Burgalassi, 2010).…”