Abstract

This article opens a monographic section on the «Emilian Model». A region with solid manufacturing traditions and with high export volumes, Emilia-Romagna has long been undergoing a deep change, first of all in its production system: a metamorphosis indeed, which the four papers published here analyze in detail. This introductory paper highlights both their common traits (e.g., the description of the changes that took place between the Seventies and the 2000s) and their peculiarities (e.g., agglomeration economies, signs of discontinuity in the life of industrial districts). This monographic section is the first pillar of a larger research project of the Jean Monnet Chair of the University of Parma.