Infrastructure gaps in Italy: a case-by-case measurement

This paper provides a methodological contribution to the assessment of the infrastructure endowment for a territory. Compared with existing indicators based on expenditure or physical properties – which can be misleading as they examine only a single dimension – the advantages of the proposed method lie in three features: first, its flexible methodology, which adapts the measurement criteria to the function and nature of different infrastructures; second, the geographical detail, as far down as to 611 economically homogeneous partitions of the Italian territory whenever data availability allows it; third, the ample set of infrastructures considered, both economic (transport networks, ports, airports, power grids, water distribution, fixed and mobile telecommunication networks) and social (health care and waste management facilities). The analysis documents significant infrastructure gaps in Italy, often highlighting a disadvantage for the South and the Islands.