The Long-Term Evolution of Regional Manufacturing Specialization in Italy

This paper contributes to the literature on the evolution of manufacturing specialization by analysing a panel of Italian regions over the 1951-2011 period. For this purpose, we create an original dataset combining seven different census data records on Italian industry released periodically by the National Statistics Institute (ISTAT). Our main findings highlight that three different dimensions, one economic, one connected to social networks and one related to human capital, impact the level of specialization in the Italian manufacturing sector, although in different ways. Differences can be observed at both the territorial and sectoral level.