In this paper, on the basis of an original data base, we have gathered detailed information on the Italian regional growth over the post-war period using several statistical techniques. We have described the evolution of the disparities using, as a measure of regional economic growth, either per capita income and labour productivity, the latter variable also at the sectoral level. The evidence indicates that labour productivity convergence across the Italian regions was limited to the period 1960-75. This process has been mainly driven by a fall in the industrial dispersion and by a reduction in the share of agriculture. In the past 18 years the convergence process has completely stopped, indeed we have detected a slight increase in the dispersion, arising essentially from the industrial sector and from the southern non-Adriatic regions. Also per capita income inequality has decreased over the period 1960-75, but mainly among the north-centre regions and it has started to increase again from the mid-1970s. Now the degree of regional wealth inequality in Italy is still the highest within the EU. Per capita income tends to spread according to a two-peaks distribution with all the southern regions but one included in the low polarisation point.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia in its series Working Paper CRENoS with number
1997/1.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Ernesto Batteta).
Related research
Keywords:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Roberto Cellini & Antonello Scorcu, 1995.
"How many Italies?,"
Working Papers
215, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Università di Bologna.
[Downloadable!]
Barro, Robert J & Sala-i-Martin, Xavier, 1992.
"Convergence,"
Journal of Political Economy,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(2), pages 223-51, April.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)