Estrategias de flexibilidad: empresarios, sindicatos y gobierno local. El caso de Prato

Sin resume

La costruzione sociale dell'innovazione

In contemporary economics the social and relational dimension of innovation comes to predominate over the corporate aspect. Innovative processes mature not only within the confines of the enterprise, but increasingly through the formal and informal relations that the companies develop between them, and with the suppliers, the customers and the structures for education and research. This connotation of interaction and dialogue is accompanied by a new local embedding of the innovative activities: it is within the territory, through direct interaction often of an informal nature, that tacit knowledge is developed as a crucial resource for innovation. It is on this process of innovation that the essays in this volume focus, bringing to light the consequences that derive for the mapping of policies aimed at sustaining innovative initiatives

Crescita economica e coesione sociale nelle democrazie avanzate

After the Second World War, the economies of advanced Countries have long been characterized by inclusive economic growth. In recent decades, on the other hand, there has been a steady increase in inequalities and a worsening for low-income social groups. What is the possibility of rebuilding a more inclusive development like that of the post-war three decades? Is it a viable road? And under what conditions? Or should we instead speculate that divorce is inevitable between economic growth and social cohesion in advanced democracies? There is no sure answer to this question, but it can be a good exercise, especially for those who believe that inclusive development is an essential component of the quality and stability of democracies, asking themselves under what conditions we can try to pursue this goal. The path proposed in this text focuses, in a comparative key, on the significant differences in the forms of economic and social regulation between the various advanced democracies that are reflected in more or less inclusive development paths and models of capitalism. Why have some countries managed to better defend the conditions for inclusive development over the past three decades? Through which economic and social regulatory choices? Moreover, another overlooked question is worth asking. How has politics created consensus around these choices and made them possible, while in other contexts it has supported growth accompanied by greater inequalities? What is certain is that giving up the goal of finding a more satisfactory balance between economic growth and social cohesion not only jeopardizes economic development, but also weakens and impoverishes democratic institutions

Why the Italian Mezzogiorno did not Achieve a Sustainable Growth: Social Capital and Political Constraints

This article analyses the reasons for the persisting economic and social backwardness of the Italian Mezzogiorno. The South of Italy, a large and densely populated region, has lagged behind the rest of the country over the last 60 years, despite considerable investments in development aid. Understanding the reasons for this failure is particularly important not only for the future of Italy citizens but also for regional development policies in Europe. Current explanations focused on either an insufficiency of economic aid from the central government or a lack of social capital in the Southern regions. Both of them are weak in a number of respects. The insufficient aid thesis overlooks the large absolute scale of net transfers form the state to the South (especially in terms of spending on public services). The social capital thesis points out the weaker endowment of civicness in the Mezzogiorno, but overlooks the role of political institutions that hinder economic development and the growth of civic culture. The major argument of this article is that the problem of the South should be explained primarily through reference to the dynamics of the political system (both local and national). The prevalence of clientelism in the politics of the South helps explain the inefficiency of aid policy, and also provides a more convincing explanation for the lack of social capital. Clientelism in local politics is supported and even encouraged at the national level because of the importance of the Mezzogiorno in national electoral politics

Assumption without representation: the unacknowledged abstraction from communities and social goods

We have not clearly acknowledged the abstraction from unpriceable “social goods” (derived from communities) which, different from private and public goods, simply disappear if it is attempted to market them. Separability from markets and economics has not been argued, much less established. Acknowledging communities would reinforce rather than undermine them, and thus facilitate the production of social goods. But it would also help economics by facilitating our understanding of – and response to – financial crises as well as environmental destruction and many social problems, and by reducing the alienation from economics often felt by students and the public

Unbalanced Growth: Why Is Economic Sociology Stronger in Theory Than in Policies? CES Working Papers Series 129. 2005

The aim of this article is to discuss the relationship between economic sociology and economic policies. In the last decades, economic sociology has made significant achievements in terms of theory and research, but that its influence on policies has remained weak. While this was inevitable in earlier decades, when scholars had to concentrate most of their effort on defining the role and contribution of economic sociology, it has since become a constraint for the institutionalization and recognition of the discipline. The return to economic sociology, since the 1980s, has brought about important theoretical achievements, especially in the analysis of economic organization at the micro level in terms of social and cultural embeddedness. The role of social relations in contemporary economy has clearly emerged, but its implications for policies to promote economic development have remained more latent so far. Although a weaker institutionalization and a poorer connection to policy-making certainly affect the political influence of economic sociology in comparison to economics, the paper focuses on the research perspective. A shift of the research focus from the statics to the dynamics of economic organization could be useful. In this framework, particular attention is drawn to the study of local development and innovation through a closer relationship of economic sociology with comparative political economy. A separation between these two approaches does not favor a full exploitation of the potential contribution of economic sociology to policies

Unbalanced Growth: Why Is Economic Sociology Stronger in Theory Than in Policies? CES Working Paper, no. 129, 2006

The aim of this article is to discuss the relationship between economic sociology and economic policies. In the last decades, economic sociology has made significant achievements in terms of theory and research, but that its influence on policies has remained weak. While this was inevitable in earlier decades, when scholars had to concentrate most of their effort on defining the role and contribution of economic sociology, it has since become a constraint for the institutionalization and recognition of the discipline. The return to economic sociology, since the 1980s, has brought about important theoretical achievements, especially in the analysis of economic organization at the micro level in terms of social and cultural embeddedness. The role of social relations in contemporary economy has clearly emerged, but its implications for policies to promote economic development have remained more latent so far. Although a weaker institutionalization and a poorer connection to policy-making certainly affect the political influence of economic sociology in comparison to economics, the paper focuses on the research perspective. A shift of the research focus from the statics to the dynamics of economic organization could be useful. In this framework, particular attention is drawn to the study of local development and innovation through a closer relationship of economic sociology with comparative political economy. A separation between these two approaches does not favor a full exploitation of the potential contribution of economic sociology to policies

Dynamisme privé et désordre public : note sur le paradoxe du développement italien

Carlo Trigilia and Walter Santagata The Italian paradox of «creative disorder» In many ways, Italy amazes observers as much as it worries and fascinates its neighbors. In a single country, an industrialized North lives with a South that seemingly belongs to another world ; and dynamic firms coexist with the impossibility of reforming public institutions. This paradoxical situation is hard to interpret. It has forced Italian research to explore approaches inspired by the discipline of political economy. An especially fertile current of thought has thus taken shape. Sociologie du travail reviews Carlo Trigilia' s Private dynamism and public disorder : A note on the paradox of Italian development and Walter Santagata' s The separation between politics and the economy : The end of an Italian anomaly.Trigilia Carlo. Dynamisme privé et désordre public : note sur le paradoxe du développement italien. In: Sociologie du travail, 38ᵉ année n°1, Janvier-mars 1996. pp. 6-13