How much is Community Action Worth to the Local Economy? The Debate between «Instincts and Institutions» in the Process of Formation and Consolidation of Urban Commons in Naples

Regional economics and economic sociology are strongly claiming the need toconduct empirical research on Communities, considered as the most significantexpressions of collective and informal action in contemporary cities. They areconsidered important because they make up an essential portion of the practicesthat coordinate the actors of a complex regional industrial organizational ecology.On such bases, the adoption of a network approach and motivational analysis oflinks has been recommended for empirical analysis. The aim of this study is toprovide a contribution on this matter through an updated reading of the incentivequestion and a possible application of the same to an empirical case. Thecomparison between the theoretical elements and those derived from the observedreality, featured by the communities inspired to the principle of commongoods in Naples, will allow us to draw some conclusions. In particular, the advantages/disadvantages of the individual’s adherence to the communities and of thelatter to the local network established with public institutions will be highlighted.Finally, some hypotheses on the future evolution of the observed network will beformulated in terms of reciprocity in the definition of the critical tasks.