This paper is concerned with the regional policy process in Italy particularly referring to regional planning and industrial development in the South. Italy presents the most classic model of economic dualism. In fact the problem of the backwardness o...
This paper is concerned with the regional policy process in Italy particularly referring to regional planning and industrial development in the South. Italy presents the most classic model of economic dualism. In fact the problem of the backwardness of the Italian South is of worldwide significance, for nowhere has there been devised a satisfactory mechanism for solving the problem of underdevelopment and regional imbalance that affect to developing countries like Korea.
Policy aimed at solving the regional problem of the South can be devided into three phases. The pre-industrialization phase was in 1950-1957 which was emphasized on land reform and general infrastrictire; In the second phase in 1957-66, attention switched to stimulating industrial development directly by locating publicly owned industry in the South. In the last phase, policy has become more regionally concentrated within the South as a whole and more integrated into national planning.
The regional problem in South Italy includes the questions of industrialization strategy relevant to less developed countries as well as specifically regional and locational questions. The infrastructure and incentive policies pursued by the Government have less significantly improved the share of the under-developed South in income and employment. However, it is quite true that regional policies have contributed a lot to the improvement of the South.
In spite of the underiable achievement in the South, the essential difference between North and South remain progressive. The South will long continue to be a dependent province of the North until a fundamental recording of social and economic values occurs. Italy is still a country of great regional diversity and disparity as well as be regarded as one of the best laboratories in the world for the study of regional policy.