Abstract

Growth is a dynamic characteristic of society before being one of production, industry and trade. It does not come from the outside, although it is outward looking. It is not a technology, which can be acquired or exported. It is a fight for improvement and construction maturing where people live. The article addresses three questions. First, is it a handicap to be at the periphery of an economic region. The answer is no. If we look at the map of the EU we observe that the periphery (Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Spain) constitute the economically most dynamic part of the Union. Second, is there a difference between being a peripheral region or a peripheral independent state? From a strictly economic point of view, being a region is more advantageous than being an independent state. Third, what should the periphery request from the centre? It should request public goods, rule of law, infrastructures, education and, above all, equal conditions; it should oppose assistance and transfers which perpetuate the gap instead of setting the conditions to close it. The development of the Mezzogiorno depends on the Mezzogiorno itself.