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(Re-)exploring the link between devolution and regional disparities in Italy

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  • Torrisi, Gianpiero
  • Pike, Andy
  • Tomaney, John
  • Tselios, Vassilis

Abstract

The existence of an economic dividend - in terms of regional disparities -of the global devolutionary trend registered over the past three decades is still ambiguous both on theoretical and empirical grounds and it is likely to be casespecific. With respect to the Italian case it has been argued that since 1996, even in an indirect way, a negative effect of devolution on regional disparities arose. However, our empirical analysis suggests that the decline in Italian regional disparities over the decade 1996-2006 has been decisively driven by the dynamic of population and, to some extent, by the loss of competitiveness and consequent low relative performance of northern regions. Therefore, the link between devolution and spatial disparities appears to be rather spurious and, if any, its beneficial effect has been uneven both in time and space.

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  • Torrisi, Gianpiero & Pike, Andy & Tomaney, John & Tselios, Vassilis, 2011. "(Re-)exploring the link between devolution and regional disparities in Italy," MPRA Paper 32212, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:32212
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    1. Andy Pike & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & John Tomaney & Gianpiero Torrisi & Vassilis Tselios, 2010. "In Search of the 'Economic Dividend' of Devolution: Spatial Disparities, Spatial Economic Policy and Decentralisation in the UK," SERC Discussion Papers 0062, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Balázs Lóránd, 2012. "Regional policy and the implementation of subsidiarity," ERSA conference papers ersa12p261, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Saša Obradoviæ & Nemanja Lojanica & Olivera Jankoviæ, 2016. "The influence of economic growth on regional disparities: Empirical evidence from OECD countries," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 34(1), pages 161-186.
    4. Lóránd, Balázs & Horváth, Gyula, 2012. "Decentralizáció és gazdasági fejlődés. Az olasz példa [Decentralization and economic development. The case of Italy]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(12), pages 1273-1298.
    5. Greco, Salvatore & Ishizaka, Alessio & Matarazzo, Benedetto & Torrisi, Gianpiero, 2015. "Stochastic Multiattribute Acceptability Analysis: an application to the ranking of Italian regions," MPRA Paper 68508, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic Dividend; Devolution; Spatial Disparities; Spatial Economic Policy; Decentralisation; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • R5 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis

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