Economy and Development in Calabria: The Weak Development Hypothesis

The Calabrian economy is best described by the paradigm of "weak development", meaning that the region’s economic system is unable to fully take advantage of periods of economic expansion to bridge the gap with more developed regions and is not equipped to cope successfully with periods of recession. The reasons for the "weak development" of Calabria can be attributed, in general, to external diseconomies. We analyse these external diseconomies to obtain an overview of the causes that have historically led to the development differential between Calabria and Italy. In this scenario, a type of "compensatory" or "add-on" regional development policy ends up accentuating the differences between regions. Development policy should instead operate with minimal interventions to create strong connections between economic players and combine production activities with services to favour the servitization that can influence the "weak" factors within the economic system and stimulate innovation and competitiveness.