Regional development: reviewing the Italian mosaic

Abstract

This article presents estimates of per capita gross domestic product, workforce, product per worker and activity rates for the Italian regions in benchmark years from 1891 and 1951; historical estimates are linked to the official figures available from 1971 onwards, in order to capture the evolution of the long-term regional economic disparities. In light of this picture, the main analyses concerning the take-off of the north-west, the rise of the central north-east regions, and the failure of southern Italy and of regional policies are briefly reviewed. A long-term, albeit still preliminary interpretative hypothesis is proposed, which is based on the distinction between key fixed resources (energy, human capital, social capital) and mobile resources (technical and financial capital). During the period of 'extraordinary intervention' in the south, the Italian state favoured the latter, not the former, thus achieving only transitory and unsatisfactory results.

GDP and life expectancy in Italy and Spain over the long run: A time-series approach

“…At the same time, in Italy the population in the regions of the industrial triangle − Piedmont, Liguria, and Lombardy − was always above 25% (and if we include the region of Rome, the strength of which was services rather than industry, the population was around 30%-32%). For Spain, see the estimates by Rosés, Martínez-Galarraga, and Tirado (2010) and the population figures by Nicolau (2005); for Italy, see the estimates by Felice (2010Felice ( , 2011) and the population figures by Felice (2007: 16). mortality levels.…”

GDP and Convergence in Modern Times

“…When looking at Europe, we have confirmation for the Spain case, with divergence from 1860 to 1920 and then convergence from 1920 to 1980 (Martínez-Galarraga, Rosés and Tirado, forthcoming). For Italy, however, the inverted U shape is observed in the Centre-North, but not when the southern regions are included 31 For Italy, the western country where the most impressive regional policy (in terms of expenditures as a share of GDP) was carried out, see again Felice (2010). (Felice, forthcoming).…”

Missing an opportunity: the Italian Mezzogiorno's trading troubles during European integration

“…Thus cut off from international markets, the agricultural exports so vital to the Mezzogiorno plummeted (Felice 2010;Malanima and Zamagni 2010). As a result, the Mezzogiorno's industry was hit harder by the effects of the wars (Iuzzolino, Pellegrini, and Viesti 2011;Malanima and Zamagni 2010).…”

“…Italy pioneered the field of regional policies as early as 1904, introducing legislation aimed at promoting the catchup of the south (Felice 2010). Funds were invested in infrastructure developments but the investments were meagre by today's standards and the policy effort short-lived (Iuzzolino, Pellegrini, and Viesti 2011).…”