Regional economic policies and the non‐linearity of history

Abstract

Drawing from the Italian experience, this essay challenges widespread expectations about an increasing role of the regions in economic policy‐making. ‘Non‐linearity’ of such evolution is argued to be the result, first of the complex political dimensions of this process (which is not a mere devolution of powers from the centre, but a bottom‐up building of specific policy dimensions, objectives and tools), and second, of the unclear cost‐benefit balance of decentralizing economic policies. These issues are addressed both in general terms and with specific reference to the Italian case. Here the weakening of political conditions favourable to rapid regionalist reform converge with the growing role of centralist‐minded technocracy and with the diffused awareness of the unresolved problems of present regional institutions. The essay suggests not to expect mechanical adaptations of political institutions to our new understanding of territorial economies.