Italy: rise, decline and restructuring of a regionalized capitalism

Abstract

During recent decades, the varieties of capitalism approach has provided one of the most important contributions on the analysis of advanced capitalism. However, there are national experiences that seem to be hard to explain from this theoretical perspective. In this artricle we underline that this is particularly true for countries that are characterized by a high degree of internal diversity, such as the Italian case. For this reason we propose to combine the national and regional dimensions, studying what can be defined as a ‘regionalized capitalism’: a complex and heterogeneous system that entails both remarkable dysfunctions and elements of strength. Analysing the Italian case, we show the importance of centre–periphery relations, which produce a mix of local economic dynamism and national public disorder (public deficit and debt, inefficient policies). At a local level, SMEs and their networks cooperate in a flexible and neo-voluntaristic way to produce territorial competitive advantages: a networked economy based on relational capacities. However, the success of local economies has delayed the adjustment of public policies at a central level. In the last decade, this process has endangered economic development, while Italian firms were challenged by increasing globalization. Drawing attention to the regional dimension, this research approach offers not only useful insights for understanding a single national case study, but also holds broad theoretical implications for the analysis of change and restructuring of advanced economies.