Abstract

Development is not even. Some regions are able to start a development process, even quite fast, while many others are still lagging behind. In some development is due to the birth of new industrial district in underdeveloped regions: the external economies they produce foster the competitiveness of the firms and help the overall growth. However, the birth of new industrial districts in underdeveloped regions is a quite rare phenomenon. This paper describes the conditions that allowed the development of the 25 industrial districts in Made in Italy products (textiles, clothind, footwear, furnitures, leather and skins) in the Italian Mezzogiorno, drawing upon a large field research that will be published soon. So, this article surveys overall conditions: factor endowment, infrastructures, technology acquisition, inward investment, subcontracting, human capital migration, enterpreneurship, markets and price and non-price competitiveness factors. Some main general conclusions are reached: conditions allowing new industrial districts are widely different; their histories vary: so no general rule or policy implication can be drawn. However all new industrial districts follow an historical pattern going from start to a sudden takeoff, that may happen or not.