Italian Mezzogiorno Research Articles

Foreign Direct Investment and Regional Attractiveness in the EU Integration Process

The analysis of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the EU regions has shown changes in both the sectoral composition and the geographical orientation of productive investments operated by multinational enterprises (MNEs). Such variations may be attributable to factors such as the ‘deepening’ of the integration process in the 1980s and the early 1990s and the change in the location strategies of MNEs. Assuming regions as units of analysis with regard to economic integration, this paper provides a first description of where and in which sectors inward FDI is located in Italy, by carrying out a simple analysis at regional level in the period 1985-95. It attempts to shed some light on the characteristic features of Italian regional systems in order to assess their degree of attractiveness for FDI. The geographical distribution of foreign plants in Italy emphasizes the historical imbalances affecting the country, stressing the concentration of FDI in a few advanced regions and the marginalization of the Italian Mezzogiorno. Furthermore, the analysis turns to investigate whether FDI follows regional specialization models by distinguishing between EU and non-EU FDI in sectoral and geographical terms. EU investors turn out to be increasingly related to the sectoral comparative advantages of regional economic systems, while the matching between the specialization of non-EU FDI and that of local firms is relatively less pronounced.

A neglected chapter in Italy's transition from Fascism to the Republic: The Kingdom of the South (1943–1944)

Abstract Gallerano's paper examines the reasons why Italian historians have paid little attention to the political events that followed the liberation of the Italian Mezzogiorno and the brief life of the government established under the auspices of the monarchy during the period of what was termed the Kingdom of the South. He argues that this neglect derives in part from the brevity of the period of civil government in the south, but mainly from the fact that historians have been attracted above all by the history of the Resistance which has led them to consider events in the south to be of secondary importance. Gallerano argues that such a view is quite unjustified and shows how some historians ‐ from Chabod in the early 1950s ‐ have understood that events in the south bore very directly on the broader transition from Fascism to the Republic. Challenging Renzo De Felice's recent claims that Italy's defeat on 8 September 1943 marked the beginning of a crisis of national identity, Gallerano argues that the...

Convergence, Cohesion, and Integration in the European Union

Cohesion in the European Union - Regional Disparities and Center-Periphery Relations in the European Union - Methodology for the Study of Convergence - The Findings: The Dependent Variables - The Italian Mezzogiorno: Does it fit the Convergence Model? - The Findings: The Independent Variables - The Convergence Model of European Integration - The Role of Linkage Strategies in Regional Development - European Union Linkages - Conclusions - Index

Finance, economic development and the transition: the East German case

The role of banks in the transition concerns three issues: the bad loans problem, the role of banks in providing a solution to the problems of corporate governance of privatized enterprises and the access of new enterprises to finance for investment. This paper shows how the combination of early privatization of the banking system plus financial restructuring of enterprises by the Treuhand prevented the development of a 'bad loans' problem in East Germany. The merits of banks as large stakeholders in privatized enterprises has been frequently debated in Eastern Europe. Although the role of banks as owners of non-financial companies in West Germany is frequently exaggerated, there was a widespread public expectation that they would play a considerable role in the restructuring of East German enterprises. We show that their role in acquiring stakes in privatized firms in East Germany has been negligible and suggest reasons for this outcome. East Germany is characterized by a very high level of investment and the second part of the paper investigates how the financial system can affect the relationship between investment and growth. It has been argued that the inefficiencies of both development and commercial banking in the Italian Mezzogiorno have contributed to the failure there of high levels of investment to translate into growth. The efficiency characteristics of development and commercial banking in Southern Italy are contrasted with those in East Germany. Considerable attention is given to the extent of competition in commercial banking and to the delegation by the development banks of screening and monitoring activities to the commercial banks, which characterizes the German system. It is argued that the German banking system which has been transferred to East Germany does not suffer from the inefficiencies found in Italy. Evidence is provided for the convergence of the structure of banking in East and West Germany. Nevertheless, in spite of the extensive acces(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Maritime impacts on the littoral organization ? The case of the Western Mediterranean

Littoral life in the W Mediterranean is undergoing relevant changes. There are about 40 seaports in thh are, making up a sort of Southern Range (from Algesiras to Leghorn), and besides that a South-Western Area (Italian Mezzogiorno), and a Developing Area (African coast). A new spatial model of oil transport — the third one sinnce the Sixties — is emerging, having a high degree of freedom. Growing consumption of steam coal brings about the construction of deep-sea terminals generating feeder effects within the Mediterranean. In unitized transport the Mediterranean has weaker relations with Europe than with non-European areas, and brings about the construction of platforms for the distribution of containers. NW industrial areas are being transformed and concentrations of new tertiary activities are emerging, relations between littoral cities and inland cities are changing, medium ports are coming to the fore. Relations between W and E Mediterranean shores are changing.

Return Migration and the Development of the Italian Mezzogiorno

The authors interviewed return migrants in 3 regions--Puglia Basilicata and Calabria--of the Italian Mhezzogiorno. Prosperous provinces such as Taranta have low emigration rates and therefore low rates of return migration. When net emigration is plotted for each province most reveal a positive balance starting in about 1973 very similar to the national trend. The study investigates employment patterns before and after return migration and the use of savings and remittances. When migrants return to areas where the preconditions of development are not present to begin with development following return migration cannot occur. Moreover many migrants do not return to their native villages but to cities instead. Returnees to urban areas have far more choices for employment than returness to villages. This research project attempts to categorize returnee by type: 1) migrants who return to their native village and find employment as best they can 2) migrants who return but are unable to find jobs and 3) migrants who return to urban areas where there are more jobs. The questionnaire which is 30 pages long covers such areas as: 1) whether employment abroad influences employment at home 2) whether aspirations and jobs fit 3) how widespread the desire is to become a small business owner 4) how much prestige is attached to land ownership 5) whether migrants who leave with their families different from those who migrate alone and 6) whether there are patterns of internal migration among returnees.

Industrie de base et espace économique : le complexe sidérurgique de Tarente et son impact local

20 years after the building of its steel complex, Taranto's province is first among other Italian Mezzogiorno provinces, for economic growth, but far behind for social indices and hasn't yet got any industrial system. An analysis of the factory's technical working and especially of products movements and of decision centres shows that it is the firm's policy, rather than the factory's kind, which should be held responsible for the weakness of industrial inducts. The policy of industrialisation is still the core of economic and social expansion, but a real and clear planification is absolutely necessary for a further development.

Technology Transfer in the Italian Mezzogiorno: A Multicriteria Evaluation Method for Priority Assessment

This paper presents a multicriteria evaluation method for assessing priorities in technological transfer for the Italian Mezzogiorno. A reformulation of appropriateness is given, which seems to be more appropriate to the socio-economic conditions of Southern Italy, being here the case of a less developed area in a vast highly-industrialized and competitive-market economy. The assessment procedure is designed as a step-hierarchy : from the analysis of the national trade balance for each sector (product; process) we proceed to work out a technology evaluation matrix, and finally to confront the outcome with more specific locational requisites of the region under study. The method should provide decision makers with a list of alternatives backed up by systematic evaluation of their effectiveness, and could prove a useful tool for the national technology policy.

The Case of the vanishing Bourgeoisie. A reinterpretation of social and economic development in the Mezzogiorno in the early 19th century

John A. Davis, The Case of the vanishing Bourgeoisie. A reinterpretation of social and économie development in the Mezzogiorno in the early 19th century, p. 845-874. It is generally assumed that the years between 1815 and 1860 witnessed the emergence of a new agrarian bourgeoisie in the Italian Mezzogiorno. Recent studies of the late 18th Century and the period of French occupation throw considerable doubt on the fortunes of this class. Evidence for the period after 1815 suggests even more strongly that this was a time of real crisis for southern landowners, and in particular for the smaller landowners. The prevailing agricultural slump, together with the economic policies of the Bourbon Administrations, gravely damaged the interests of the landed classes, and created a series of downward pressures which prevented the formation or emergence of any new group of capitalist farmers. Sample studies of individual new landowners also indicate the strength of traditional attitudes, techniques and patterns of behaviour. The collapse of the Bourbon Kingdom should then be seen in terms of the Bourbons' failure to satisfy the needs of traditional sectors of southern society, not those of a new and aspiring agrarian bourgeoisie.

Potential use of the Mansholt Plan for restructuring agriculture in the Italian Mezzogiorno

The purpose of this article is to report results of research on the potential effectiveness of the Mansholt Plan as a form of government intervention in the interior hill and mountain region of Southern Italy. Alternative strategies of intervention are evaluated in a multiple-goal framework including increases in national and regional income, decrease in outmigration and impacts on income distribution. An aggregate linear programming model is used to estimate potential development for the area. A framework for decisions cast in a multiple-goal objective function and under uncertainty is finally suggested.

Italian Experience in Regional Economic Development and Lessons for Other Countries

Previous articleNext article No AccessItalian Experience in Regional Economic Development and Lessons for Other CountriesBhagwant SinghBhagwant Singh Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 15, Number 3Apr., 1967 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/450230 Views: 2Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1967 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:SARA LORENZINI Ace in the Hole or Hole in the Pocket? The Italian Mezzogiorno and the Story of a Troubled Transition from Development Model to Development Donor, Contemporary European History 26, no.33 (Dec 2016): 441–463.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960777316000576

Emigrazione e industrializzazione nel Mezzogiorno (Un commento allo studio di V. Lutz) (Emigration and industrialisation in Southern Italy. A comment)

In the present note, the authors comment on “Some structural Aspects of the Southern Problem: The Complementarity of Emigration and Industrialisation” by Vera Lutz. It is argued that Lutz’ analysis of the “structural” obstacles to the development of the Italian Mezzogiorno and the policy conclusions deriving from it rest on some rather peculiar theoretical hypotheses and on some fundamental factual assumptions which are not substantiated. The authors examine such hypotheses and consider the available data, suggesting that Lutz’ argument is in need of reformulation and that her conclusions are faulty. JEL: O14, O52

Changement social et changement culturel dans le Mezzogiorno italien

In the Italian Mezzogiorno with its overpopulation and its archaic economic structure, modern economic and social life emphases the contrasts. The A. analyses these aspects and the processus of urbanisation which occurs there. He explains the dilemma of Italy divi sed between two socio-economic systems, and which has to choose between economical and sociological still insufficient models, these which can give the bases of a harmonious and accelerated regional development.

Some structural aspects of the Southern problem: the complementarity of “emigration” and industrialization

In the recent debate in Italy regarding its Southern policy, the view taken by most “Southernists” was that “emigration” to the North is not a factor helping to promote industrial development in the South itself, but merely a substitute for such development. Conversely, the present article argues that in certain circumstances, such as with the Italian Mezzogiorno, the relief of population pressure in an area can have a positive role in facilitating that area’s economic development. The author sets out in rough quantitative terms the aspects of the Southern problem which make it appear that a redistribution of population between South and North is in fact a necessary part of the solution.

Alcuni aspetti strutturali del problema del mezzogiorno: la complementarietà dell'emigrazione e dell'industrializzazione. (Some structural aspects of the Southern problem: the complementarity of “emigration” and industrialisation)

In the recent debate in Italy regarding its Southern policy, the view taken by most “Southernists” was that “emigration” to the North is not a factor helping to promote industrial development in the South itself, but merely a substitute for such development. Conversely, the present article argues that in certain circumstances, such as with the Italian Mezzogiorno, the relief of population pressure in an area can have a positive role in facilitating that area’s economic development. The author sets out in rough quantitative terms the aspects of the Southern problem which make it appear that a redistribution of population between South and North is in fact a necessary part of the solution. JEL: O14, O52