The Socio-Institutional Divide: Explaining Italy’s Long-Term Regional Differences

Abstract

The recent availability of more accurate estimates of regional gdp, of social indicators (human capital, life expectancy, the human development index [hdi], heights, inequality, and social capital), and of other indices (such as market potential) has helped to advance the study of the growth patterns within Italian regions from (approximately) unification to the present day. This up-to-date information provides the basis for a new explanation of Italy’s industrial expansion and economic growth: The North–South socio-institutional divide that existed in Italy before unification in some respects grew stronger after unification, never to be bridged. This geographical division ultimately carried differences in human and social capital, governmental policies, and various institutions that exerted considerable influence on the regional structure of Italy’s economic growth.

Violence towards Emergency Nurses: The 2016 Italian National Survey—A cross‐sectional study

“…The logistic regression model has also discovered a more than double risk of verbal violence in the EDs of the islands and southern Italy. This might be explained, at least in part, by the different organisation of EDs in this geographic area (where understaffing is often frequent, and patient/nurse ratios are high) (Ramacciati, Lumini, Mezzetti, Gili, & Rasero, ), as well as by the socio‐economic imbalance between southern and northern Italy (Felice, ), with higher unemployment, social problems, early school dropout rate and poverty in the south (Istat, 2017a), and partially, based on data from Istat the Italian National Statistical Institute, on crime rates. Although variable and patchy throughout Italy, crime rates are higher in the south for murders and threats (while personal‐injuries are higher in the north, and there are no regional differences for verbal abuse) (Istat, 2017b).…”

Regional inequality: An analysis under the core–peripheral model

“…However, there is no longer any differentiation between regional increases, and the gap between the regions remains constant (frozen). The studies of Boltho et al (), Brunello et al (), Faini (), Felice (, ), Paci and Saba () confirmed this. Conscious theoretical analysis is to be carried out. Authors such as Felice or Sinn have presented the phenomenon empirically.…”

“…In the first period from 1871 to 1911, there was a slight divergence. From 1891, this phenomenon accelerated in times of globalization until 1911 (Daniele et al, , p. 644; Felice, , p. 933; Felice, , p. 269; Felice, , p. 44). This was due to regional wage differences between the regions.…”

“…The author, Felice, in his publications, analyses the Italian phenomenon of human and social capital. Felice considers the approach of the Solow model to be difficult because a large number of constraints have to be met (Felice, ; Felice, ; Felice, ). For this reason, Felice uses human and social capital for his analysis.…”

Parametric Modelling ofM-Quantile Regression Coefficient Functions with Application to Small Area Estimation

“…The most prominent issue in southern Italy is its inability to attract businesses and therefore to create jobs. In recent years there have been major advances in the research on patterns of local inequality and their historical roots (Felice, 2018). In this context, new and more accurate estimates of the average equivalized income for the LLSs can be of high interest for policy makers and inspire ad hoc interventions and investments, aiming to reduce territorial inequalities.…”