48066 - Economics and Local Institutions

Learning outcomes

This course in Economics and Local Institutions or Economics of Local Systems aims at providing students, starting with an average level of understanding of the foundations of law and economics theories, a set of knowledge to be used in the analysis, evaluation and solution of local development problems, together with their comparison and transferability. Local and global development are increasingly interacting. For this reason it is necessary to plan, implement and evaluate regional development and cooperation policies at different levels of government. This analysis is related both to developed and developing countries, as well as to emerging and transition countries. The course is expected to contribute to the formation of this type of skills through both deductive and inductive reasoning. To achieve this purpose traditional lectures are followed by seminars during which students are requested to state the results and the implications of the suggested readings.

Course contents

A 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 five modules. Students with different number of credits will agree with the teacher which modules they are willing to study.

Module 1. Local and international development, the role of governments and institutions

1.1. EU Regional Competitiveness Index   

1.2.  Conceptual and analytical traps

1.3.  Lessons of the international  historical experience on economic development

1.4. The role of governments and institutions in the economic development

1.5. Market and government failure, systemic risk and systemic failure: what have we learned in fifty years of economic development ?

 

Module 2. Fiscal federalism and local development

2.1. Models and advantages of the different local government systems

2.2. Nature, characteristics and territorial dimension of economic goods

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

2.4. Fiscal federalism in Italy

 

Module 3. Territorial economic development: Territory, environment, landscape

3.1. Local development, industrial districts and development policies in the international context and in the Italian experience

3.2. Industrial districts, their persistence and sustainability

3.3. Industrial districts and their transferability

3.4. Clusters, production fragmentation, out-shoring and firm networks

 

Module 4. Institutions and local developments in the South of Italy

4.1 Role of the government and institutions in the economic development of the South of Italy before the crisis

4.2 The ongoing changing

4.3 Expected impact of fiscal federalism and new funding opportunities

 

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

5.4. Implementation of the synthetic method to a case study

Readings/Bibliography

The lecturer will assign specific readings to the students according to their choices about work presentations.

Module 1.

(1.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, cap.10.

(1.b.)

S. Settis, Costituzioni, devoluzioni, in S. Settis, Paesaggio, costituzione, cemento, Torino, Einaudi, , 2010, cap.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, cap.10.

 (1.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 No. 890, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Policy, Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of California at Berkeley, May, 1999.

 

Module 2.

(2.a.)

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

G. Pedrini, Federalismo tra istanze di efficienza, fallimenti di mercato e fallimenti del governo. Lo strumento delle unioni territoriali, SDIC - School of Development Innovation and Change, (mimeo).

(2.b.)

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

 

Module 3.

(3.a.)

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 34, 1991, pp. 51-65.

S. Brusco, The Emilian model: productive decentralisation and social integration, in Cambridge Journal of Economics, 6, 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 4.

(4.a.)

D.C. North, Istituzioni, cambiamento istituzionale, evoluzione dell'economia, Bologna Il Mulino, 1997, parts.

Y.Algan and P. Cahuc, Civic attitudes and the design of labour market institutions: which countries can implement the Danish flexicurity model? IZA, Discussion paper, n.1928/2006.

The lecturer could suggest additional readings.

 

Module 5.

(5.a.)

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

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

G. Antonelli, D.N. Manitiu and G. Pedrini, Politiche per la montagna in Emilia-Romagna:valutazione di 13 progetti di sviluppo dell'Appennino bolognese, Rivista di Politica Economica, 2014 (in print).

  

(5.b.)

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

Teaching methods

Students will be actively engaged in individual and class work presentations.

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 and oral examination.

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

http://www.unibo.it/SitoWebDocente/default.htm?mat=033328; http://www.midic.org/index.htm

Office hours

See the website of Gilberto Antonelli