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Monopoly capitalism stressed the inevitable tendency of monopolisation of economies based on market capitalism, due to the strategic behaviour of firms aiming at reducing competition and preventing entry. The growth of Big Tech in the last decades just confirms this result. However, the digital economy and the development of online platforms reflect deep economic transformations, whereby the nature of competition in markets considerably changes. This paper shows that Cowling’s insights are not undermined as a result, rather the contrary. In particular, we suggest that industrial strategy in the digital economy could be usefully focused on economic governance, as suggested by Cowling. The new regulatory paradigm proposed in the EU with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) seems to follow this suggestion.

This paper explores the Newtonian roots of Adam Smith's thinking in the structural dynamics of the production system and of social organization at large. Newton's Principia Mathematica inspired a philosophical movement in Scotland that looked for principles that could explain the dynamics of social and economic bodies with the same scientific rigour. In Smith's account, the sources of structural economic dynamics lie in the actors’ capacity to organise production within that domain of interaction of competing forces that he defines as the market. Against this background, Smith analyses the role of the institutional setup. This conceptual framework is central to the theory of structural dynamics in classical political economy. It highlights a possible avenue along which to investigate Pasinetti's distinction between the ‘natural’ (production-based) and the ‘institutional’ levels of analysis (Pasinetti's separation theorem) by exploring the dynamic interdependence of technological and institutional drives in the emerging new industrial revolution.

This paper argues that structural approaches to the analysis of economic systems provide useful theoretical insights for the definition of industrial policy. In particular, radical structural changes represent ‘industrial revolutions’ between manufacturing regimes. This paper addresses industrial policy as a policy of transitional (medium-term) dynamics. We analyse industrial revolutions, from the first to the on-going fourth industrial revolution, and discuss both the structural changes implied, namely the shift between manufacturing regimes, and the implications for industrial policy.

This chapter analyses decision-making in a multi-level governance (MLG) framework in the case of emergency and recovery from an earthquake arising the Emilia-Romagna Region in Italy in 2012. While the literature has pointed to the importance of two levels of government in resilience from disasters, namely the national and the local one, this study shows the role of intermediate levels of government, particularly the regional level. This Italian region has been affected by various shocks, mainly the 2008 financial crisis, which was very close to the earthquake. Nevertheless, the region has been resilient, thanks to a specific governance, attention to social cohesion, taking all the parts of the regional system into account, and learning capacity.

This paper contributes to the literature by proposing that regions have to develop dynamic capabilities in order to successfully adapt to big disruption such as Industry 4.0. It explores both the s...

Although regional resilience has been widely discussed in recent years, scholars recognise that there is little understanding of the determinants of the long-term adaptive capacity of regions. Poli...

In this article, we discuss how integrated industrial policy can simultaneously pursue value-added generation and productivity enhancement in regional economies, along with inclusiveness and social cohesion. Our arguments are rooted in the integration of the literature on human development and capability approach, on economic geography and on industrial policy. In particular, we introduce a people-centred and place-based perspective on Sustainable Human Development and an interpretative political economy framework for the structural analysis of collective action in places. These arguments are illustrated by analysing recent industrial policies for a new social cohesion in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy.

This chapter examines industrial policy implemented in European countries across time, especially after the Second World War and in recent years. It briefly shows that industrialization never occurs without strong supporting industrial policy to provide the enabling conditions for the deep structural changes involved, such as infrastructure and capabilities, especially human capital. Industrialization in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is associated with the creation and consolidation of nation states, leading to national perspectives on industrial development and industrial policy, at the expense of regional imbalances. After the Second World War, three phases of industrial policy take place: strong and selective intervention in the first three decades of the period, market-led approaches in the 1980s and 1990s, and a more pragmatic approach at the turn of the century, where deep structural changes require industrial and institutional adjustments. With globalization and the emerging new technological paradigm of Industry 4.0, innovation and skills, as well as the territorial roots of industrial development, seem to be important aspects of industrial policy today. The chapter also argues that the multilevel governance policy framework has to adapt to current disruptions, particularly in Europe.

Almost five decades after the creation of institutional governments at the regional level in Italy and the transfer of policy responsibilities to the regional administrations, this paper focuses on the more recent policy experience of Emilia-Romagna, in particular, its 2015 “patto per il lavoro” (Deal for Labour). It follows an integrated approach to industrial policy at the regional level and attempts to extract the most from available resources, based on a constant exchange with other regions, the Italien state, the European Commission and other external institutions. The main axis on which all the other elements turn are, in addition to the leverage of research and innovation, education and training.

This book offers a critical reflection on the meaning and expected impact of the fourth industrial revolution, and its implications for industrial policy. Industrial revolutions are considered not only in terms of technological progress, but also in the context of the changing relationship between market and production dynamics, and the social and political conditions enabling the development of new technologies. Industrial Policy for the Manufacturing Revolution aims to increase our capacity to anticipate and adapt to the forthcoming structural changes. A concrete illustration of this industrial policy is provided through an experience of its implementation at regional level.

Published online: 08 Feb 2018 There is a growing body of literature highlighting the positive contributions of migration and diasporas to economic growth, innovation and productivity. One of the channels facilitating these effects is entrepreneurship. This paper provides novel empirical evidence concerning the link between migration and firm entry across Italian regions during the period 2004–14, and it explores the role of ethnic concentration in this context. The results show that the stock of foreign population is positively correlated with firm entry. Furthermore, this relationship varies across business sectors and firms’ legal status, and it benefits from the existence of local networks within diaspora communities in the host region.

This chapter examines the political economy of industry, which we define as the relationship between production organisation and the power structure it generates. The political economy approach to industry highlights production organisation and its effects on both productivity and the dynamics of the whole economic system. More specifically, production organisation determines division of labour and its effects on workers’ specialisation and their modes of employment. This also determines how workers’ ‘skill, dexterity and judgement’ (Smith) can be applied and has important consequences for the distribution of power in societies. The chapter builds on the contributions of Classical Economists and applies the classical framework to explaining current evolutions in manufacturing. Particular attention is given to the work of Adam Smith, who is seen as the forerunner of a modern approach to the political economy of industry.

Il sisma che il 20 e 29 maggio 2012 ha colpito l’Emilia-Romagna e stato particolarmente grave, fra le altre cose, per i danni provocati agli edifici scolastici. Oltre 500 scuole - frequentate da settantamila studenti - sono state dichiarate inagibili a diversi livelli. La risposta delle comunita locali e delle Amministrazioni e stata immediata: sessanta gli edifici che in brevissimo tempo sono stati costruiti per garantire il normale svolgimento dell’anno scolastico, centinaia quelli riparati con miglioramento sismico. Nei giorni successivi al terremoto l’Emilia si e dunque trasformata in un laboratorio di sperimentazione sia nel campo dell’edilizia scolastica - in pochi mesi sono state testate parallelamente tutte le tecnologie disponibili oggi per la costruzione di scuole sicure, innovative e sostenibili - sia di un fare scuola innovativo e partecipato. Cio che e stato fatto e il risultato della lealta fra istituzioni centrali e locali, della volonta politica, condivisa con tutti i sindaci del territorio, di dare priorita alla scuola e di una straordinaria azione collettiva che ha visto i presidi, gli insegnanti e i ragazzi, in attesa della consegna delle strutture, iniziare le lezioni il 17 settembre 2012 nelle palestre, nelle tensostrutture e in tutti gli spazi in quel momento agibili e disponibili. Superata l’emergenza si tratta ora di riflettere su quanto imparato anche per condividerlo e metterlo a disposizione del Paese. Se la parola educazione vuol dire "andare oltre", mai come oggi il nostro Paese ha bisogno di scuole e di scuola, di formazione, universita e ricerca per superare la crisi che ci sta bloccando da troppo tempo. Mai come oggi l’Europa ha bisogno di un’Italia capace di generare modelli di innovazione sociale ed economica fondati sui diritti effettivi dei cittadini.

‪This paper argues that the large changes in the extension of markets implied by globalisation call for a renewed analysis of production organisation and the filieres in which firms produce and sell products, in order to better understand structural changes in industries. ‪ After a review of structural changes, we briefly discuss some of the concepts and approaches existing in the literature to study production processes; of these, we consider the filière, global value chains and sectoral systems of innovation and production. All these approaches are useful to provide detailed analyses of the organisation of production within the firm and outside, with their networks of suppliers. However, they do not represent theories that could help predict in what circumstances certain specialisations or technological developments could be preferred. All approaches however appear to be complementary in deriving industrial policy implications. A deeper reflection on the way in which these approaches can be used to provide insights on structural changes appear therefore useful in order to derive precise industrial policy recommendations.

Le debat sur les relations entre les secteurs financiers et non financiers de l’economie est un vieux debat. Schumpeter (1911) soutint qu’un systeme financier efficient et efficace a un impact positif sur la croissance economique. Recemment, ce debat a ete ravive par la crise financiere, qui a revele la croissance extraordinaire du secteur financier dans les dernieres decennies, l’ecart croissant entre les spheres financiere et reelle de l’economie, et la financiarisation des entreprises. En fait, le secteur financier est devenu si important et realise des profits si eleves qu’il est legitime de se demander si cette tendance n’a pas limite les changements structurels des secteurs industriels, en limitant ses ressources non seulement financieres mais aussi humaines, etant donne que l’evidence est que beaucoup d’ingenieurs ont prefere travailler dans le secteur financier pour obtenir des salaires plus eleves que dans l’industrie. Pendant ce temps, les industries ont connu des changements structurels importants, impliquant la necessite d’importants investissements a tel point qu’elles ont appele les gouvernements a realiser des politiques industrielles pour soutenir ces changements, conduisant a un « retour » des politiques industrielles. L’objectif de cet article est d’analyser les effets de cette financiarisation sur les secteurs industriels et les implications en termes de politiques industrielles. Ces dernieres devraient comprendre des mesures qui induisent le secteur financier a se refocaliser sur l’approvisionnement des industries en ressources financieres. Les politiques financieres et macroeconomiques doivent etre coherentes avec les politiques industrielles de sorte que toutes les parties du systeme economique puissent se combiner pour s’engager sur un sentier de developpement soutenable.

In this paper, we discuss the implications of the financial crisis for industrial policy. We show that despite official discourse, industrial policy has continued to exist during the liberal years of essentially the 1990s, in order to accompany important structural changes firms had to face. The crisis has implied a massive intervention in the economy, States pouring money into markets in order to provide liquidity and rescuing heavily indebted banks. Intervention has been so strong that now the discussion is about the « exit strategy ». This does not mean, however, that industrial policy has entered a new phase of return to direct intervention in markets. In fact, the risk of the crisis is that the important debate about industrial policy that started at the beginning of the years 2000 be put in the back stage. The debate prior to the crisis was on the role of industrial policy as a long-term programme, a vision of industrial development that has to be implemented through political consensus. This important debate must continue after and beyond the crisis. Dans cet article, nous discutons les implications de la crise financière pour la politique industrielle. Nous montrons qu’en dépit des discours officiels, la politique industrielle a continué d’exister pendant les années libérales, essentiellement les années 90, afin d’accompagner les changements structurels importants que les firmes devaient affronter. La crise a impliqué une intervention massive de l’Etat dans l’économie, pour fournir des liquidités et pour sauver certaines banques très endettées. L’intervention a été si forte que les débats regardent maintenant les stratégies de sortie de l’intervention directe. Ceci ne signifie pas, cependant, que la politique industrielle est entrée dans une nouvelle phase interventionniste. Nous soulignons dans l’article qu’en fait la crise risque de faire passer au second plan l’important débat sur la politique industrielle qui a eu lieu depuis le début des années 2000. Ce débat portait sur le rôle de la politique industrielle comme vision ou stratégie, comme programme de développement industriel de long-terme qui doit être appliqué avec un consensus politique. Nous soutenons que ce débat doit continuer après et au-delà de la crise.

The aim of this paper is to review the articles published in the journal L’Industria over the last 30 years, focusing on issues related to industrial policy. Articles published in the journal have both analysed the characteristics of Italian industry and discussed industrial policy implications. Attention has never been exclusively turned to the Italian case: industry in other countries has been considered, not only in Europe but also elsewhere in the world, in Asia and America. Foreign cases are used as examples to follow or as analyses of partners of or markets for Italian firms. Regarding industrial policy, three phases can be identified in this review. The first 10 years (in the 1980s) discussed the « dirigiste » or « interventionist » type of industrial policy, whereby governments directly intervened in markets by command-and-control and by buying also producers. The second decade, that of the 1990s, saw the adoption of a new approach to industrial policy, whereby governments no longer directly intervene in markets but rather induce behaviour by appropriate incentives and, in terms of structural policy, provide the conditions for competitiveness. These phases correspond to the phases of industrial policy implemented in Italy and the EU. The 21st century starts with a new phase of industrial policy, that this paper tries to characterise by looking at the papers published in L’Industria. The main conclusion is that the new industrial policies are still in the process of being defined in the real world, perhaps waiting for industrial economists to provide guidance. Economists and policy-makers writing in the journal stress that in the current context new models have to be built and new solutions have to be suggested. We add that a number of issues has to be examined for solutions to be proposed.

This paper provides evidence of the evolution of industrial policy in European countries through a detailed analysis of state aid data. We show the emergence of a new phase of industrial policy in the years 2000–2004. The two previous phases were respectively an ‘interventionist’ phase, whereby national champions were directly and strongly supported, and a ‘liberal’ phase where industrial policy meant providing the conditions for the competitiveness of industry, in the sense of only defining the rules of the competitive game. The new phase can be called ‘pragmatic’. The reason for such a term is that industrial policy implemented today is somewhere in between the two extremes constituted by the previous two phases, the rules of the game still being emphasised but some vertical industrial policy measures being envisaged where necessary. In other words, stress is still on horizontal policy measures but some vertical policy measures are adopted to meet the specific needs of the various sectors of th...

This paper argues that the institutional framework of industrial policies derives from the analysis of industries as systems. Industries are embedded in specific institutional frameworks with which they co-evolve. However, industrial systems are primarily organised at local level: industries may be global but in the sense that they constitute global networks of local systems. The institutional framework of industrial policy derives from this result: industrial policy acts at different levels, primarily the local one with regional policies, but also national and supranational. The paper argues that regional industrial policies are key policies to favour industrial development, and performing regions are those that combine dynamic capabilities (pool of resources: raw materials, infrastructure, competencies and knowledge, human capital) and an institutional system characterised by governance and leadership. This is illustrated with the case of the Emilia Romagna region in Italy. Dynamic capabilities both favour the development of local firms and attract firms and resources (financial, human) from outside the region. Governance is taken in the sense of Stoker (1998) of a collective decision-making process, involving all stakeholders. We add that leadership is also essential in such a framework. Finally, the success of industrial policy depends not only on the local institutions but also on their relationship with the wider institutional framework.

Una ricostruzione del dibattito sullo sviluppo dell'industria nell'Italia postunitaria ci riporta ad uno scontro durissimo fra economisti, che pur nella diversa derivazione ed impegno accademico, hanno assunto tutti ruoli e responsabilita' politiche nel loro tempo. Comparando le dinamica dei contesti politici ed istituzionali in cui si forma e consolida il Regno d'Italia, dall'Unita' fino alla Seconda guerra mondiale, verificheremo come si e' posto il tema dello sviluppo industriale, o meglio del ruolo dell'industria come traino della crescita di un paese ritenuto in ritardo di sviluppo.

Cet article suggere que les changements significatifs de l’extension des marches induits par la globalisation appellent a un renouveau de l’analyse de l’organisation de la production et des filieres industrielles afin de mieux comprendre l’evolution des industries. Apres une revue des changements structurels, nous discutons quelques concepts et approches existants dans la litterature et utiles a l’etude des processus de production ; nous considerons les filieres, les chaines globales de valeur et les systemes sectoriels de production et d’innovation.Nous montrons que ces approches apparaissent utiles a l’analyse de l’organisation de la production et pourraient etre utilisees pour mieux comprendre les grands changements structurels auxquels l’industrie est confrontee depuis des decennies. Cela permettrait aussi d’etablir des recommandations de politiques industrielles plus precises.