The Italian Industrial Districts: evolution and features

Global and Local Development
Regional Economic Policies
2014/2015
Professor Cristina Brasili
The Italian Industrial Districts:
evolution and features
Endogenous Growth Model
In Italy endogenous growth theorists focus on the role played by the Small and
Medium Enterprises (SME) and especially, the local economic systems they
engender - i.e. the industrial districts
Why is that so?
Signorini in Lo sviluppo locale (2000) names it the “Structural
Paradox of Italy”, that is:
• an industrial basis made up of micro and small enterprises
specialised in traditional sectors
• A sharp North-South Dualism differentiating the socio-economic
system of North from that of the South of Italy
• Production mostly at low-technological and low-capital content
The Industrial Districts (IDs)
In the Principles of Economics (1919) Marshall wrote that an area with a high
concentration of small firms can be defined as district when:
• production is flexible. Firms in the district make the most of efforts to meet the clients’
needs; when dealing with wholesalers strive to produce the whole selection of products
required by these clients;
• there is a concentration of flexible small and medium firms in particular localities;
• some of the small and medium firms operating in the district sell directly on the market,
while other produce intermediate products that are functional to the final production of
the district;
• there is no strict distiction between firms producing final products and other producing
intermediate components; a firm can be both producer of final products for some of its
production and subcontractor for other production;
• cooperation and competition are intertwined in the district; firms tend not to compete,
rather make efforts to ensure a slice of the market for themselves without having
disruptive effects on other fir s and within the district;
• the district is embedded in small area characterised by a core production;
• there is a strong interdependence between the district’s performance and activities and
the social and economic life of the geographic area where it is located.
The Industrial Districts (IDs)
From the Marshall’s definition of the District
……...
To the synthetic definition of Becattini (1990),
“a social and territorial entity that is
characterized by the active presence of both a
community of
people and a group of
enterprises in a natural and historically
determined area”
Structure of Production in EU countries (values in %)
Country
Belgium
Denmark
Germany
Greece
Spain
France
Italy
Luxemburg
Holland
Austria
Portugal
Finland
Sweden
UK
Island
EU
Source: Eurostat
0-9
17.7
12.6
7.3
16.2
22.5
13.1
25
6.2
13.5
13.7
17.5
9.6
10.8
12.8
21.5
13.7
Nr. of Employees
10-49
50-249
18.1
20.1
20.3
25.8
14.3
16
28.4
28.3
26.9
20.8
18.1
20
31
18.1
12.3
20.6
16.1
20.3
18.9
29.3
27.2
29
13.8
20.8
15
21
14.9
20.2
31
16
19.4
19.5
>250
44.1
41.4
62.4
27.1
29.8
48.7
25.8
60.9
50.1
38.1
25.6
55.9
53.2
52.1
31.4
47.4
See More: Pierluigi Bersani & Enrico Letta, Viaggio nell’economia italiana, Saggine,
Donzelli Ed. 2004
The decline of large enterprises in Italy
(% of employment in large enterprises)
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1961
Source: Censimenti Istat
1971
1981
1997
2001
The Industrial Districts (IDs)
Industrial Districts in the Italian Economic Development
(Giacomo Becattini )
One key feature of the Italian industrial system
The industrial specialization of the Italian industry is not centered on
high technology and capital intensive industrial sectors rather on
sectors with high levels of know-how, design, “creativity” and low and
medium technological content.
e.g. furniture, shoes, leather, fur, jewelry, etc.
In this way Italy faces high competition from both emerging markets
and industrialised countries.
The Industrial Districts (IDs)
Industrial Districts in the Italian Economic Development
(Il Sole 24 ore, 1992 )
First mapping of the Italian Industrial Districts:
higher presence in the North, at an early stage of development in the South,
only a few in the Centre of Italy
No sectorial analysis available.
Three types of prodution:
•Personal Durable goods (related to “materie prime”)
• Home Durable goods (home appliances and equipment)
•Food Products and machineries related to food production
The Industrial Districts (IDs)
“Made in Italy” e distretti industriali
(Becattini, 1998 )
It is an answer at the specialised demand
•The production “Made in Italy” realized in the districts is of two
types: the production of final consumer’s goods and the production of
machinery and intermediate products connected to the realization of
the final products.
The Industrial Districts (IDs)
Territorial organisation and changes in the 1990s:
• Industrial districts face the globalisation; what the effects?
• Has Globalisation pushed towards a progressive de-localisation of production?
Three possible answers:
1. De-localisation of production towards low-cost markets
2. De-localisation of some stages of the production
3. Some of the more traditional districts become “tertiary districts” asprovide
collateral services and perform supporting activities, while the production
goes outside the borders of the country.
The geographic concentration of production remains important also in the 1990s
despite the globalisation
See More: Luigi Burroni Carlo Trigilia (2001), Local Production Systems in
Europe: Rise or Demise?, Oxford University Press ,2001
The Industrial Districts (IDs)
Local Labor Systems (2001 Census)
L’Istat released information on the Local Labor Systems that had been
classified and defined thatnks to a methodology that measures the daily
movement of people between the place of resience and one other specific
place (data provided by the 14th Population Census).
It has just been completed the 15th Census of the Industry, whose data
have been just recently made available.
Italian Districts’ regulation
• Increasing relevance of economic territorial analysis but not of SME’s.
• In Italy in 1991 we have the recognition of ID Article 36 Law 317.
• 21 April 1993 there was an executive decree defining the variables for
the identification of the IDs. The law and the decree are based on the
Marshallian definition of Ids. The identification of the district it isn’t a
mechanical process
• Before of the contemporary application of the five criteria it needs the
analysis of the regional and national territory.
The IDs in Italian law
Article 36 Law n. 317 1991.
April 1993 executive decree law 317, identification of the
districts:
Reference parameters for the Regions:
• Istat Labour Local System: one or more in which there is
verified contemporary:
• An employment manufacturing index more then 30% of
Italian one;
The IDs in Italian law
• Entrepreneurship rate in terms of Local Units more then Italian
average;
• Productive specialisation in a sector of activity in terms of
employments respect to the employments in the total
manufacturing sector more then 30% of the same Italian rate;
• A level of employment in the manufacturing specialisation
activity more then 30% of the manufacturing employment in
the considered area;
• A rate of employment in the SMEs in the specialisation area
more then 50% of employment of all the enterprises in the
considered area
The IDs in Italian law
The law “Norme in materia di attività produttive”
(Article 6.8) 1999 May 11 gets trough the 5
parameters to identify the IDs.
The Regions could be define the local productive
systems where is a relevant concentration of
enterprises and IDs the local productive systems
with high productive specialisation.
The IDs in Italian law
The Italian economist Sylos Labini: Italy
needs a reform of IDs.
In 2005 he developed and published in
the “Sole 24 Ore” newspaper a draft
law.
About the reform of the IDs and
Draft Bill issued by CNEL in October 2004
Art. 1 The Reform of the system of industrial districts
“Il sistema dei distretti, disciplinato dalla legge del 1991, viene riorganizzato
nei modi e nei termini stabiliti nella presente legge. Le norme si applicano alle
imprese che operano nei distretti esistenti. Possono essere applicate, previo
parere favorevole dell’organo di cui all’articolo 2, alle imprese che si
costituiscono presso i distretti nuovi e delle imprese che operano fuori dai
distretti, con particolare riguardo alle imprese inserite in filiere produttive”.
Art. 2 The creation of a body for the coordination and
management of the district
“In seno a ogni distretto viene istituito un organo distrettuale di coordinamento e
di indirizzo, d’ora in poi definito “organo distrettuale”. Le modalità del
funzionamento di tale organo verranno definite per mezzo di un protocollo
d’intesa fra le parti sociali – associazioni di industriali, artigiani e commercianti e
sindacati – e le Regioni, cui spetta un ruolo di grande rilievo. Il criterio
fondamentale, non derogabile, è di utilizzare lavoratori o tecnici già operanti in
ciascun distretto o comandati da enti di ricerca e da Università, sulla base di
rapporti indicati nell’articolo 6.
L’organo distrettuale promuove i rapporti diretti fra le imprese del
distretto al livello orizzontale nelle filiere produttive e i rapporti verticali, fra le
imprese e gli enti che si occupano di ricerca e di formazione e promuove, in
ciascun distretto, la creazione di scuole e istituti professionali e, d’intesa con le
università, corsi di laurea e master post-laurea”.
Art. 4 Mandate of the District
“All’organo distrettuale sono attribuite cinque mansioni fondamentali.
Esecuzione per conto delle imprese di tutti gli adempimenti amministrativi
necessari per l’avvio e l’attività delle imprese, fornendo servizi d’informazione e
di consulenza legale, amministrativa, tecnica, finanziaria e fiscale. Servizi di
consulenza e di promozione delle innovazioni provenienti dal sistema della
ricerca pubblica. Promozione dei rapporti con l’Unione europea. Sostegno
organizzativo, anche d’intesa con gli organi di altri distretti o con organismi
europei, per progetti innovativi di speciale rilevanza. Infine, dovrà collaborare
con le imprese e gli organi del governo centrale per favorire gli sbocchi dei
prodotti locali sia nel mercato interno ed in quelli esteri.
Art. 6 Applied Research
“L’organo distrettuale promuoverà la riorganizzazione e lo sviluppo della
ricerca applicata, tenendo conto della vocazione dominante in ciascun
distretto e promuovendo un centro di ricerca per la gestione dei laboratori e
per regolare i rapporti fra il Centro, di cui al primo comma, gli altri organi
distrettuali, gli enti di ricerca, come l’ENEA e il CNR, le Università e i centri
di ricerca e gli organi europei. L’organo distrettuale favorirà la collaborazione
con gli organi professionali, a cominciare con quello degli ingegneri”.
Art. 9 Employment education and training
"L’organo distrettuale è autorizzato a promuovere, d’intesa coi sindacati, con
gli industriali e con le Regioni, il rafforzamento e lo sviluppo della formazione
di lavoratori, anche specializzati, e di amministratori. Può inoltre sostenere i
sindacati qualora intendessero rafforzare ed integrare, sulla base delle leggi
esistenti, il sistema della protezione dei lavoratori contro gli infortuni”.
Art. 10 Provision of ad-hoc Infrastructure
“L’organo distrettuale, d’intesa con le Regioni e coi ministeri competenti,
prenderà le misure utili a facilitare la costruzione o l’ampliamento delle
infrastrutture utili per i distretti”.
Art. 11 Public Procurement
“L’organo distrettuale studierà, insieme con le imprese, le modalità adatte a
evitare catene eccessivamente lunghe e complicate di appalti e subappalti,
che aggravano i costi e favoriscono il lavoro nero”.
Art. 12 Energy
“L’organo distrettuale individuerà le forme più adatte per rendere efficiente
ed economico l’approvvigionamento dell’energia per le imprese”.
A policy for the industrial districts , is it feasible?
One may wonder whether and how is possible to recreate industrial
districts in other areas, so that to export this “model” to other contexts. Is
this a viable policy ?
Although firms embedded in industrial districts (IDs) have demonstrated
to perform better than others outside them, still the IDs are not an
economic miracle.
So far it has not been discovered a unique, well-defined and reproducible
mechanism able to engender the IDs..
The law 317/91 set out various types of support for the IDs – for the most
, it stays at the Regions the responsibility to provide such forms of
support.
In Italy there are a number of instruments and contributions given to
small firms. This system has contributed to exacerbate the structural
characteristic of the Italian industrial structure – that is its hig
fragmentation. In this socio-economic context
• local authorities play a fundamental role
• a properly designed regulatory framework alone is not sufficient
(Source: L.F. Signorini in Lo sviluppo locale, 2000)
Local and Global Development
Regional Economic Policies 2014-15
1) Industrial districts, innovation and I-district effect: territory or
industrial specialization? Rafael Boix, 08.07, University of Barcelona,
pp. 1-8
2) Bjørn Asheim Industrial districts as ‘learning regions’. A condition for
prosperity? R03 1995
3) IL
DISTRETTO
INDUSTRIALE
MARSHALLIANO
COME
CONCETTO SOCIO-ECONOMICO, Giacomo Becattini, in Stati &
Informazioni, Rivista Trimestrale sul Governo dell’Economia, 1991
4) (in alternativa al 3) BECATTINI, G. (2001) The caterpillar and the
butterfly. An exemplary case of development in the Italy of the
industrial districts. Firenze: Felice Le Monnier.
5) Brasili C. Fanfani F., 2005, Agrifood Districts: Theory and Evidence in
De Norhonha et altri eds. The new European rurality Strategy for
small firms. Ashgate