Citation:Sbardella A., Zaccaria A., Pietronero L., Scaramozzino P. (2021), Behind the Italian regional divide: an Economic Fitness and Complexity perspective, Sinappsi, XI, n.2, pp.50-73
Subject:Analisi econometrica; Regioni; Sviluppo industriale
Abstract:
This paper applies the Economic Fitness and Complexity approach to
analyze the underlying factors behind the wide and persistent economic
disparities across the Italian regional units. Measures of regional fitness
are obtained from their revealed comparative advantage and their patent
performance. Southern regions tend to be characterised by a lower level
of complexity than the regions in the Centre-North of the country. We
interpret these results as indicating a lower level of capability endowment
in the South. The system-wide approach of the paper is able to identify
some critical sectors which display a rich pattern of connections with other
sectors and which could play a pivotal role to create additional capabilities
and foster a more balanced regional development.