In this study, we compare the recent dynamics affecting the Piedmont, Veneto and Puglia’s regional economies. In the past, such three regions were considered emblems of three different development models: Piedmont corresponding to the most advanced and industrialized part of the country (the "first"Italy); Veneto to the "third" Italy model; and Puglia as a region moving from the industrial backwardness of the South (the "second" Italy) toward the so-called "Adriatic way to the development". By the mean of quantitative analysis of the three regions we support that they changed considerably over the past ten years. Such changes can be summarized in the following five points: the reduction of manufacturing activities to the advantage of (knowledge-intensive) business services; firm’s growth and the increase of non-family run businesses; the differences in firms birth rates across sectors and the rise of new forms of enterprise creation; the relevance of innovation activities for firms; the increasing importance of external economies that span the district boundaries. Along those five axes of the evolution, the three regions occupy different positions but very different from those that we have learnt in the past.
Keywords: Regional Economy, Manufacturing and Services, Firm Growth, Internationalization, Innovation, New Ventures, Industrial Districts
Jel Code: R11, R12, O30, L60, L80
Valentina De Marchi, Roberto Grandinetti, Riccardo Voltani, How are italian regional economies evolving? Comparing veneto, piemonte and puglia in "ECONOMIA E SOCIETÀ REGIONALE " 2/2014, pp. 126-160, DOI:10.3280/ES2014-002009