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Social capital, resilience and regional diversification in Italy

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  • Roberto Antonietti
  • Ron Boschma

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the question how institutions affect regional diversification, especially in times of economic crisis. This paper investigates the role of social capital for the entry of new industries and the exits of existing industries in Italian provinces during the 2004-2010 period. Our results show that bridging social capital in a region positively contributes to the entry of new industries, especially when they are unrelated to existing specializations in the region. Diversification in regions (especially more unrelated diversification) tends to rely on bridging, not on bonding social capital. We also find that bridging social capital loses its impact on regional diversification during the crisis. Bonding, not bridging social capital, appears to make regions resilient in times of crisis, by reducing the probability of exit, especially in industries unrelated to existing specializations in regions. While bridging social capital has a negative effect on exit in times of prosperity, it shows no such effect anymore during the crisis period. Our findings suggest that bridging social capital loses its supportive role in times of crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberto Antonietti & Ron Boschma, 2018. "Social capital, resilience and regional diversification in Italy," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1804, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:1804
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    bonding social capital; bridging social capital; regional diversification; resilience; economic crisis; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact

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