Vita e Pensiero

Based on official statistics and original estimates, the paper investigates the enduring consequences of the Great Recession and pandemic crises on the Sicilian economy. It underlines the need for regional resilience in response to the new industrial trends. Since 2008, gross fixed capital formation declined, unemployment and skilled outmigration raised...

Under what conditions can Sardinia – a peripheral island with a small population – proceed along a steady path of economic development? This is the crucial question addressed in this paper, which examines the economic and social situation of Sardinia within the national and the European scenario which is characterized by a strong polarization process fuelled by agglomeration forces...

After a triennium (2015-2017) of relative growth, the economy of Campania (and the Mezzogiorno) has significantly slowed down, and the gap with Centre-North has increased again. Thus, as in the past, the economic, institutional, social, and political aspects of the structural fragility characterizing the region have again made the positive short-term conjuncture little effective in triggering a real and durable process of convergence towards the more developed Centre-Northern regions...

Del Monte’s book deals with the convergence among different and heterogeneous areas of a single country. He has adopted a comparative approach: the two less developed areas are the two Souths, Italy, and the USA. Its purpose is to explain the fact that the famous convergence thesis of neo-classical growth theory holds for the American South but not for the Mezzogiorno. In a first approximation, the answer lies in the fact that growth in the South of the USA and the Mezzogiorno followed two different patterns...

Based upon the theoretical framework proposed by Nebel and Arbesu-Verduzco (in this issue) about common good and its indicators, we summarily expound an instrument designed for measuring common good and social dynamics that was applied in the municipality of Atlixco, Puebla, and then we discuss a couple of models – Model 1 and Model 2 – arranged after it. We report that Model 1, the result of said application, presents some issues in spite of having good values of reliability. Hence, in an effort to enhance the initial instrument we show that Model 2, an adaptation of Model 1, presents a good fit plus good internal consistency...

In recent years, the international development agenda gave centre stage to the need of measuring the multidimensionality of progress and quality of life. This trend led to the creation of a variety of metrics. The present article discusses a new metric which adopts a common good approach to development...