Ambizioni e insuccessi di alcune politiche di sviluppo locale per il Mezzogiorno

Abstract

In 1997 a “new programming” was launched in Italy by the Department of development and cohesion policies in Rome. One of the key features of this new phase was the emphasis on “endogenous” local development, i.e. a development which is mainly based on local actors and productive specializations. The new programming strikingly failed to deliver its expected results. Some wrong expectations were fostered with regard to local political elites (§§ 1). A certain concept of local development is inherently flawed (§§ 2). The first failure was that of “territorial agreements” (patti territoriali), but there is a remarkable reluctancy to admit it (§§ 3). Another experience of “local” development whose outcomes are poor is that of Integrated Territorial Programs (Pit). After 42 years (1950-1992) of extraordinary intervention for the Mezzogiorno and almost 20 years (1989-) of European regional policies, most of Southern Italy is still in a condition of backwardness. Wrong development policies are one of the main determinants of such underdevelopment.