Social cohesion and economic development: some reflections on the Italian case

Abstract

The processes of globalisation, market deregulation and the retreat of the welfare state in advanced capitalist societies have revitalised the debate about how to reconcile economic development and social cohesion. This debate has been widespread in Italy, where great differences occur between local contexts as regards economic performance, the level of inequality and, more generally, the cohesion of the social fabric. Within this framework, this paper explores the level of both economic development and social cohesion in Italian provinces, through the analysis of secondary data. With particular reference to the Italian situation, the article therefore contributes to the debate on the focalisation and operationalisation of the two concepts. Finally, the complex relation between economic development and social cohesion is analysed, and its non-linear trend is outlined.