IT
On 8-9 November, a working meeting of the four academic research units involved in the PRIN project “Geographic Boundaries and the ‘Territorial Question’ in Italy” will be held at the University of Florence and online (with participants also from the Universities of Trieste, Salento, and Naples).
In Italy, long-standing and significant disparities act as obstacles to growth across various regions, stemming from gaps in different types of capital, economic efficiency, and productivity. These challenges lower the chances of shared governance and heighten the risk of political and social conflict. Many analyses of Italy’s decline highlight inefficiencies within public administration and local governance, often attributed to bureaucratic red tape, low productivity within these structures, insufficient investment, and delays in technological and organisational advancement.
While these factors persist, scholars involved in the PRIN project believe that the historic inefficiency of administrative boundary delineation should also be seen as a critical factor. “Territorial inefficiency” here refers to the economic costs and barriers to efficiency that arise when administrative regulations do not align with how economic and social processes actually unfold across regions. This November event will provide a forum for discussing and comparing approaches and findings related to this objective.
Antonello Scialdone, a senior researcher at Inapp, will act as the discussant on Friday, 8 November, addressing the activities and progress reported by representatives from the four academic research units involved in the project.
This is an invitation-only event, open to a select list of participants.