Politiche di sviluppo regionale in Italia: obiettivi, strumenti e risultati

Politiche di sviluppo regionale in Italia: obiettivi, strumenti e risultati (di Roberto Basile, Marianna Mantuano) - ABSTRACT: This work tries to assess the extent in which the recent regional policy promotes convergence among Italian regions. In particular, it analyses the policy carried out in favour of a) the mobility and the flexibility in the labour market and b) the industrial development. As far as the labour market is concerned, the paper concludes that policy makers have acted more in favour of the flexibility, rather than of the geographical mobility of the labour force. As regards the industrial policy, the strength of the large amount of incentives adopted to support the development of clusters of small and medium sized firms seems to be weakened by the scarce selectivity of the intervention. Furthermore, the policy measures aimed at attracting investments from large domestic and foreign firms in the least developed areas still appear insufficient. The constraints imposed by the European Union in the interpretation of State Aids also hamper the introduction of particular fiscal advantages for the Mezzogiorno. Finally, the work discusses the potential negative effects of the decentralization process on regional disparities.