Examines the regional impact of the recent evolution of the c
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"In their analytically original study, Dunford and Greco show that Italy today is divided predominantly into two regions (north and south) and that the development path of each region must necessarily be understood in relation to that of the other. These findings have major significance for political-economic geography well beyond the Italian case."
--John Agnew, University of California, Los Angeles
"A welcome and detailed dissection of the changing geography of economic growth and decline in Italy, that demonstrates the importance and theoretical value of understanding the dynamic micro-foundations of regional economic change."
--Professor Peter Sunley, School of Geography, University of Southampton
"The book is, in sum a good example of theoretically informed empirical research in economic geography, which is aware of and inspired by but also not unconditionally adhering to the dominant theories and approaches in the discipline ... The book by Dunford & Greco is one of these attempts aiming to bring together empirical analysis of regional economies and the social critique of global capitalism. The authors have accomplished this difficult task in a brilliant way and for this reason their book is ultimately recommended reading not only to those interested in issues of regional development in Southern Europe but more generally to all practitioners of economic geography and related disciplines."
--Royal Dutch Geographical Society
Table of Contents
List of Figures xi
List of Tables xiv
Series Editors’ Preface xvii
Preface and Acknowledgements xviii
List of Abbreviations xxiii
1 Introduction: Growth, Inequality and the Territorial Division of Labour 1
Areal differentiation and development models 1
After the Three Italies 8
A new economic geography of uneven development 12
The structure of the book 15
2 Convergence, Divergence, Regional Economic Performance and the New Economic Geographies 17
Analyzing regional economic performance 17
Convergence or divergence 20
Territorial divisions of labour 26
Conclusions 39
3 Theorizing Regional Economic Performance and the Changing Territorial Division of Labour: Value Chains, Industrial Networks, Competition and Governance 41
Introduction 41
Basic and nonbasic industries 42
Explaining the dynamics of activities serving wider markets 43
Enterprises and their environment: establishing the frontiers/boundaries of the firm 50
Enterprises and their environment: interfirm relations 52
Modes of governance and growth 58
Conclusions 61
4 Growth and Inequality: The Political Economy of Italian Development 64
Introduction 64
Italy’s economy in its European and Mediterranean context 65
Official statistics, unrecorded activities and the measurement of output 70
GDP, net transfers and regional income 76
Territorial inequality in Italy at the turn of the millennium 80
Catching up, falling behind, surging ahead and losing ground: trends in Italian regional development 87
Conclusions 90
5 Institutional Dynamics and Regional Performance 92
Introduction 92
The institutional configuration and the characteristics of Italian capitalism 93
Institutional context and territorial development dynamics 97
Crime and territorial development 102
Changes in the 1990s: the political scene 104
Changes in the 1990s: the system of governance 107
Changes in the 1990s: debt reduction and privatization 111
Changes in the 1990s: territorial development policies 113
Concluding remarks: the implications of recent trends 124
6 Italian Regional Evolutions 128
Introduction 128
Italian regional evolutions 130
Comparative regional development 140
Comparative provincial development 147
Employment, productivity and investment 149
Economic specialization, exports and international integration 155
After the Three Italies: the origins and limits of the district model 159
Conclusions 169
7 Industrial Change and Regional Development: The Changing Sectoral Profile of Regional Development and the Evolving Regional Profile of Industrial Change 170
Introduction 170
The sectoral profile of regional economies 170
Sectoral structures and uneven development 173
The changing geography of vehicle manufacturing in Italy and the world 187
The changing geography of chemical manufacturing in Italy and the world 200
Conclusions 207
8 Globalization, Industrial Restructuring and the Italian Motor Vehicle Industry 209
Introduction 209
The FIAT Group: changing functions in the value chain and changing chains 210
Globalization and market-seeking investments 216
FIAT in Italy: technological and organizational upgrading and geographies of production 225
Outsourcing, redefining corporate boundaries and restructuring the supply chain 230
Crisis, markets and models 236
Conclusions 242
Afterword 243
9 Reconfiguring Industrial Activities and Places: The Italian Chemical Industry 244
Introduction 244
The Italian chemical industry and its changing position in the wider European and world context 245
History and characteristics of the Italian chemical industry 252
Trajectories of restructuring 255
The role of SMEs 262
Another aspect of the new international division of labour: foreign companies in Italy 264
Experiences and regional impacts of restructuring: the disengagement of the chemical industry in Puglia 266
From growth pole to industrial cemetery: the disengagement of the chemical industry from Basilicata 271
Conclusions 280
10 Conclusions and Further Remarks 282
Introduction 282
Geography as a spatial expression of a social order 282
Geography and development models 283
Contemporary perspectives on industrial change and regional economic performance 284
Theorizing industrial change and regional inequality: profit strategies and value chain upgrading 286
Areal differentiation and uneven development in Italy: from the north–south divide to the Three Italies and after 288
Economic decline and the limits of the district model 290
Industrial and regional performance 293
Conclusions: inequalities, territorial divisions of labour and profit strategies 294
References 296
Notes 312
Appendices 318
Subject Index 335
Author Index 343
