42465 - Economics of Local Systems

Academic Year 2018/2019

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Local and Global Development (cod. 9200)

    Also valid for Single cycle degree programme (LMCU) in Law (cod. 0659)

Learning outcomes

Local and global development are increasingly interacting. For this reason it is necessary to plan, implement and evaluate regional development and cooperation policies among local systems in both developed and developing countries at different levels of government. This course in “Economics of Local Systems”, which takes the denomination of “Economics and Local Institutions” for the School of Law, aims at providing students a set of knowledge to be used in the analysis, evaluation and solution of local development problems, together with the analysis of their macroeconomic consistency and of their comparison and transferability. Enrolling students are required to have an average level of understanding of the foundations of law, economics, and socio-political theories. By studying the main microeconomic and macroeconomic theoretical models and using both deductive and inductive reasoning, at the end of the course students acquire the required skills for projecting and evaluating public and private strategic actions aimed at promoting local development.

Course contents

A Master (Laurea Magistrale) course should provide deepening of topics and methods already known to the students, favouring their active participation in teaching activities. For this reason, various experts cooperate to the teaching activities.

This course is divided into four modules. Students with different number of credits will agree with the teacher which modules they are supposed to study. The division in five modules also complies with the need to guarantee high flexibility with respect to the credits needed by each student.

Module 1. Multidimensional inequality and globalization

1.1. An historical controversy

1.2. What do we know about economic inequality

1.2.1. Evolution in the distribution of income and output

1.2.2. Population and output growth

1.2.3. Evolution of the capital/income ratio

1.2.4. Distribution of national income between labour and capital

1.3. Models of capitalism and multidimensional inequality

Module 2. Economic development and regional inequalities

2.1. How widely used notions can become conceptual and analytical traps: the case of territory, lanscape and environment in the Italian devolution

2.2. Regional competitiveness indicators

2.3. What we do know about international economic development

2.4. Institutions, government, governance: levels of government in a macro, meso and micro perspective.

2.5. Markets and governments failures, systemic risk and systemic failure

2.6. Models of capitalism and regional development policies in Europe

Module 3. Fiscal federalism and local development

3.1. Models and advantages of the different local government systems

3.2. Nature, characteristics and territorial dimension of economic goods

3.3. Local government activities and functions allocation among different levels of government

3.4. Fiscal federalism in Italy

3.5 The role of local banks in local development

Module 4. Local development and economic policies in the Italian experience

4.1. Different stages in the studies of local production systems in Italy and fallout of the Italian experience

4.2. Production fragmentation, unboundling, off-shoring

4.3. Industrial districts, clusters, firms networks

4.4. Local development and development policies in advanced regions

4.4.1. Smart specialization

4.4.2. Smart cities

4.5. Local development and development policies in backward regions

4.5.1. Development stages and development policies

4.2.2. Government and institutions in economic development of Southern Italy

Module 5. Evaluation of local development policies

5.1. Key concepts and criteria in the evaluation process

5.2. Evaluation methods in the synthetic approach

5.3. Evaluation methods in the analytic approach

5.3.1. Foundations of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)

5.3.2. Estimation methods of the willingness to pay in the CBA

5.3.3. Counterfactuals methods for the evaluation of the impact of public policies

5.4. Case-study: evaluation and smartness indicators

Readings/Bibliography

For the study of each module one or more alternatives are available. The lecturer will assign specific readings to the students according to their choices about their class presentation.

Module 1.

(1.a.)

G. Antonelli, P.P. Calia and G. Guidetti, Approaching an investigation of multi-dimensional inequality through the lenses of variety in models of capitalism,Quaderni-Working Paper, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Università di Bologna, N. 984, 2014, pp. 1-46.

T. Piketty, Capital in the twenty-first century, Cambridge Mass., The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014, Parts I and II.

(1.b.)

G. Antonelli, P.P. Calia and G. Guidetti, Approaching an investigation of multi-dimensional inequality through the lenses of variety in models of capitalism, Quaderni-Working Paper, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Università di Bologna, N. 984, 2014, pp. 1-46.

G. Antonelli and B. Rehbein (eds.), Inequality in economics and sociology: New perspectives, London, Routledge, 2017.

Module 2.

(2.a.)

P. Annoni and L. Dijkstra, EU regional competitive index RDI 2013, Bruxelles DG Regio (mimeo), 2013.

G. Antonelli et al., Economia, III Edizione, Torino, Giappichelli, 2009, Ch.10.

D.C. North, Istituzioni, cambiamento istituzionale, evoluzione dell'economia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1997 ch. 1, 2, 4, 8, 9.

R. H. Wade, Return of industrial policy?, International Review of Applied Economics, Vol. 26, N. 2, March 2012, 223–239.

(2.b.)

G. Antonelli and G. Cappiello (eds.) (2016), Smart development in smart communities, London, Routledge.

S. Settis, Costituzioni, devoluzioni, in S. Settis, Paesaggio, costituzione, cemento, Torino, Einaudi, , 2010, Ch.5.

G. Antonelli, Global economic crisis and systemic failure, Economia Politica.Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, N. 3, 2011 .

G. Antonelli et al., Economia, III Edizione, Torino, Giappichelli, 2009, Ch.10.

(2.c.)

I. Adelman, Fifty years of economic development: What have we learned?, Paper prepared for the World Bank European Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics, World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2000.

I. Adelman, The role of government in economic development, Working Paper N. 890, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Policy, Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of California at Berkeley, May, 1999.

Module 3.

(3.a.)

G. Brosio and S. Piperno, Governo e finanza locale. Un'introduzione alla teoria e alle istituzioni del federalismo fiscale, Torino, Giappichelli, 2009, Chapters 1, 2 and 3.

(3.b.)

G. Brosio and S. Piperno, Governo e finanza locale. Un'introduzione alla teoria e alle istituzioni del federalismo fiscale, Torino, Giappichelli, 2009, Chapters. 1, 2, 3, 7 and Appendix.

(3.c.)

G. Antonelli and G. Cappiello (eds.) (2016), Smart development in smart communities, London, Routledge.

Module 4.

(4.a.)

G. Antonelli and G. Cappiello (eds.) (2016), Smart development in smart communities, London, Routledge.

G. Becattini, Il distretto industriale marshalliano come concetto socio-economico, in AA.VV. (eds.), Distretti industriali e cooperazione fra imprese in Italia, Banca Toscana, Studi e Informazioni, Quaderno N. 34, 1991, pp. 51-65.

G. Cainelli, Industrial districts: Theoretical and empirical insights, in C. Karlsson (ed.), Handbook of research on cluster theory, Cheltenham Glos, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008, pp. 189-201.

R. H. Wade, Return of industrial policy?, International Review of Applied Economics, Vol. 26, N. 2, March 2012, 223–239.

(4.b.)

G. Becattini, Il distretto industriale marshalliano come concetto socio-economico, in AA.VV. (a cura di), Distretti industriali e cooperazione fra imprese in Italia, Banca Toscana, Studi e Informazioni, Quaderno 34, 1991, pp. 51-65.

S. Brusco, The Emilian model: productive decentralisation and social integration, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 6, N. 2, 1982, pp. 167-184.

G. Cainelli, Industrial districts: Theoretical and empirical insights, in C. Karlsson (ed.), Handbook of research on cluster theory, Cheltenham Glos, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008, pp. 189-201.M. E. Porter, Clusters and the new economics of competition, Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec., 1998, pp. 77-90.

Module 5.

(5.a.)

G. Antonelli, Analisi di efficacia ed efficienza nelle valutazioni in itinere ed ex post dei progetti di sviluppo locale, SDIC, Università di Bologna, 2006 (mimeo).

G. Antonelli (ed.), Valutazione e sviluppo locale. Principi teorici e applicazioni all'Appennino Bolognese, SDIC, Università di Bologna, 2008 (mimeo), Ch. 4.

G. Antonelli, D.N. Manitiu e G. Pedrini, Politiche per la montagna in Emilia-Romagna: valutazione di 13 progetti di sviluppo dell'Appennino bolognese,Rivista di Politica Economica, Vol. VII-IX, luglio-settembre, 2014, pp. 245-277.

(5.b.)

G. Antonelli (ed.), Valutazione e sviluppo locale. Principi teorici e applicazioni all'Appennino Bolognese, SDIC, Università di Bologna, 2008 (mimeo), Ch. 5.

European Commission, Guide to cost-benefit analysis of investment projects, Bruxelles, Directorate General Regional Policy, 2008.

Teaching methods

Students will be actively engaged in individual and team class presentations of their works.

Scholars and experts in local development issues will be involved in the teaching activities.

Students with at least two courses in economics in their cv (including first degree courses) are better equipped in following this course.

Specific readings will be suggested during the course, in addition or in substitution to those listed in the bibliographical references for the course. Updating and changes will be promptly communicated during the course.

For further explanation and analysis, students can contact and speak to lecturers during their office hours or through e-mail.

The help of librarians is useful to find both basic and specific bibliographical references.

Assessment methods

The final exam is designed to assess the students' achievement of the following teaching objectives:

· a level of knowledge of the different theories regarding the economic development at both international and local level, the analysis is extended to developed, developing and emerging countries;

· satisfactory knowledge in the analysis and evaluation of problems related to the development of local economic systems, together with comparison and evaluation of their transferability;

· have a good command of the mainevaluation methods of local development policies and projects.

The final exam consists in a written examination with a mark of "out of 30".

Students regularly attending the lectures will be asked to make a power point presentation, under the guidance of the lecturer; the content of the presentations will be decided with the lecturer.

Teaching tools

Readings are made available to the students through the dedicated web-site.

For further explanation and analysis, students can contact and speak to lecturers during their office hours and through e-mail.

Consultation of specific web sites can be useful to find documents, data and references for specific topics.

The help of librarians is useful to find both basic and specific bibliographical reference.

Links to further information

https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/gilberto.antonelli/cv http://www.sdic-school.org/

Office hours

See the website of Gilberto Antonelli