The Socio-Economic Foundations Of Competitiveness: An Econometric Analysis of Italian Industrial Districts

The Industrial Districts of Italy are widely admired as an innovative form of socio-industrial structure that has been very successful in terms of export performance and wealth generation. Yet there have been few econometric studies of the sources of their competitiveness. This study examines the experience of a sample of 37 districts, in the early 1990s, looking for the socio-economic determinants of success in the district's industrial atmosphere. Central factors are found to be local availability of good human resources, and local financial services. Family-based business networks appear to be no longer a source of advantage.