Patterns of Specialization and Concentration in a Polarized Country: the case of Italian Regions

This paper provides some synthetic descriptive data on Italy’s economic performance, policy orientation and regional trends in specialization and concentration of industries. After a brief discussion of the main country’s characteristics and economic situation, the paper focuses on a detailed statistical – regional and industrial – analysis on specialization and concentration. The dynamics is therefore compared to the performance of the main European partners and some conclusions are drawn on the prospective evolution of the industry structure.