Abstract

The massive investment programme implemented after the 1980's earthquake devastating large areas of the Campania and Basilicata regions can be considered, for many aspects, like a policy aimed at promoting the development of economically low-growing areas. Within the framework of the "Big Push" theory and of the "Structural Transformation" theoretical model, this paper reconstructs the expenditure flows assigned to the rebuilding and development of the Irpinia province, one of the most devastated territories, in the 1981-1990 decade, and emphasizes the main changes and the evolution of the provincial economy during the next two decades. The analysis confirms that the improved provincial economy performance of this period has been affected by the transformations generated from the rebuilding process, reaffirming the substantial effectiveness of such a policy.