OECD Territorial Reviews : Bergamo, Italy 2001.

213 Pages·2001·1.788 MB·English

by  OECD

«
TERRITORIAL ECONOMY
OECD Territorial Reviews OECD
Bergamo, Italy
Territorial Reviews
The province of Bergamo, located in Lombardy, is one of the most successful
regions in Italy. The economy is highly competitive, diversified and export-
Bergamo, Italy
oriented, productivity is above the national average, and unemployment is almost
non-existent. The diversity of the region and its abundant cultural and
environmental assets are likely to turn the province into an outstanding tourist
destination. The future success of the province is not certain, though. Bergamo
still faces important challenges, like improving its education sector or building
transport infrastructures that respond to the needs of the population and of the
business sector . This Review provides advice and guidelines on how new policies
may be put into practice. TERRITORIAL ECONOMY
The Territorial Review of Bergamo is integrated into a wider programme of
National and Regional Territorial Reviews undertaken by the OECD Territorial
Development Policy Committee. The overall aim of the territorial review series is to
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provide practical policy advice to governments. Territorial Reviews focus on three E
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types of regions (urban, intermediate, rural). They contribute to a wider D
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understanding of the challenges these regions face and their options for solutions. e
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ISBN 92-64-19528-9
04 2001 14 1 P
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January 2000
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OECD Territorial Reviews
Bergamo, Italy
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960,
and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed:
– to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a
rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining financial
stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy;
– to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member
countries in the process of economic development; and
– to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-
discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations.
The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United
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subsequently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan
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Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD
(Article 13 of the OECD Convention).
Publié en français sous le titre :
EXAMENS TERRITORIAUX DE L’OCDE
Bergame, Italie
© OECD 2001
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Foreword
The globalisation of trade and economic activity is increasingly testing the
ability of regional economies to adapt and exploit or maintain their competitive
edge. There is a tendency for performance gaps to widen between regions, and
the cost of maintaining cohesion is increasing. On the other hand, rapid technolog-
ical change, extended markets and a greater demand for knowledge are offering
new opportunities for local and regional development. Yet this calls for further
investment from enterprises, reorganisation of labour and production, upgrading
skills and improvements in the local environment.
Amid this change and turbulence, regions are following very different paths.
Some regions are doing well in the current phase of the growth cycle and are driv-
ing growth. Others are less successful in capturing trade and additional economic
activities. Many territories with poor links to the sources of prosperity, afflicted by
environmental problems, migration (notably of young people), and lagging
behind in infrastructure and private investment, are finding it difficult to keep up
with the general trend. At the same time, central governments are no longer the
sole providers of territorial policy. The vertical distribution of power between the
different tiers of government, as well as the decentralisation of fiscal resources,
need to be reassessed in order to better respond to the expectations of the pub-
lic and improve policy efficiency. All these trends are leading public authorities to
rethink their policies and strategies.
The Territorial Development Policy Committee (TDPC) was created at the
beginning of1999 to provide governments with a forum for discussing the above
issues. Within this framework, the TDPC has adopted a programme of work that
focuses essentially on reviewing Member countries’ territorial policies and on
evaluating their impact at the regional level. The objectives of the reviews are:
a)identify the nature and scale of territorial challenges using a common analytical
framework; b)assist governments in assessing and improving their territorial poli-
cies; c)assess the distribution of competencies and resources among the different
levels of government; and d)identify and disseminate information on best prac-
tices regarding new practices in governance.
The TDPC Secretariat produces two types of reviews:
Territorial Reviews at the national level. Requested by national authorities, they
analyse trends in regional performances and institutional settings, focus on poli- 3
© OECD 2001
OECD Territorial Reviews: Bergamo, Italy
cies to reduce territorial disparities and to assist regions in developing compara-
tive advantages. They also concentrate on the governance framework, on the
impact of national non-territorial policies on subnational entities and on specific
aspects of fiscal federalism. The final report analyses conflicting issues and pro-
poses territorial policy recommendations.
Territorial Reviews at the regional level. Requested by subnational authorities (local
or regional) with the agreement of national ones, they concentrate on strategies for
developing the respective entity. Inparticular, they identify the role of key demo-
graphic, socio-economic, environmental, technological and institutional factors in
explaining the performance of regions. They also provide a comparative analysis
with regions of the same type using the typologyelaborated by the Secretariat.
This Review is based on the Secretariat’s study on the Territorial Develop-
ment Policy of Bergamo by the Territorial Development Policy Committee on
14December2000. Further to this examination, the Committee gave approval of
the Review for publication.
Bernard Hugonnier
Director,
Territorial Development Service
4
© OECD 2001
Acknowledgments
The project was co-sponsored and co-financed by the Chamber of Commerce,
the Province of Bergamo and the OECD. Special thanks are given to
Prof.RiccardoGalli.
Socio-economic background information and statistics were provided through
reports overseen by AndreaForti and co-ordinated by Laura Campanini (IRS –
Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale, Milan). Other written collaborations include work
by: Claudio Calvaresi, Natale Carra, Adriana Castelli, Alberto Castoldi,
SergioChiesa, StefanoCofini, ChiaraCrepaldi, FrancescoDettori, Ivana Fellini,
Massimo Florio, Giovanni Gelmini, Giuliano Oldrati, Alessandro Olper,
Renata Perego, Cesare Ravazzi, Manuela Samek Lodovici, Giorgio Strumia,
MonicaPatrizio and GiovannaCarfora. Assistance was provided by RiccardoGalli
and Katia Mereu (SERVITEC), GiulianoLorenzi (Provincia di Bergamo) and
PaoloLongoni (Camera di Commercio di Bergamo).
Further background information was provided by Prof.AlessandroBalducci,
Politecnico di Milan, Italy. Part of the analysis and written contributions were
provided by Prof. Klaus Kunzmann, University of Dortmund, Germany;
Prof.RicoMaggi, University of Lugano, Switzerland; Mr.StuartRosenfeld, Regional
Technology Strategies Inc, USA. Analysis on benchmark regions was provided by
Prof.CliveCollis, Prof.NigelBerkeley, Centre for Local Economic Development
(CLED) at Coventry University, and Dr.QuayBotchway, Coventry Business School,
UK; Prof.RobertForrant, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, USA; Prof.NedHill,
Cleveland State University, USA.
This Review was produced and co-ordinated by Mr.StefanoBarbieri and
Mr.HansjörgBlöchliger, Administrators, and was directed by Mr.MarioPezzini,
Head of the Territorial Reviews and Governance Division of the OECD.
5
© OECD 2001
Table of Contents
Assessments and Recommendations...................................................................................... 11
Part I
Socio-economic Overview oftheProvince ofBergamo
Chapter 1. Human Geography................................................................................................ 33
1. Settlement, accessibility and infrastructures................................................................. 33
2. Demographic trends.......................................................................................................... 35
3. Wealth and territorial disparities..................................................................................... 40
Notes............................................................................................................................................ 44
Chapter 2. Economy in General............................................................................................. 45
1. Economic and production structure................................................................................ 45
2. Competitiveness................................................................................................................ 47
3. Enterprise creation............................................................................................................ 52
Notes............................................................................................................................................ 54
Chapter 3. Labour Market...................................................................................................... 55
1. Current situation and trends............................................................................................. 55
2. Particular characteristics.................................................................................................... 56
3. Unemployment................................................................................................................... 60
Notes............................................................................................................................................ 62
Chapter 4. Economy by Sector............................................................................................... 63
1. Industry................................................................................................................................ 63
2. Service industries and tourism......................................................................................... 67
3. Agriculture........................................................................................................................... 68
Notes............................................................................................................................................ 72
Conclusion................................................................................................................................... 73
Part II
Main Policy Issues
Chapter 1. Spatial Planning and Transport Infrastructure............................................... 77
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 77
1. Spatial and transport policies in the province of Bergamo.......................................... 78
2. Project implementation..................................................................................................... 82
3. Planning priorities, co-ordination and co-operation..................................................... 85 7
© OECD 2001
OECD Territorial Reviews: Bergamo, Italy
Conclusions and recommendations......................................................................................... 88
Notes............................................................................................................................................ 92
Chapter 2. Education, Innovation, and Economic Performance..................................... 93
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 93
1. Education and economic development: some recent findings................................... 94
2. Education, innovation and economic performance in the Province of Bergamo............ 102
Conclusions and recommendations......................................................................................... 116
Chapter 3. Tourism and Sustainable Growth...................................................................... 119
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 119
1. Tourism as a factor of development................................................................................ 120
2. Assets and threats for tourist development in the province of Bergamo.................. 123
3. Coherent tourism development...................................................................................... 129
Conclusions and recommendations......................................................................................... 133
Chapter 4. Decentralisation and Territorial Governance................................................. 137
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 137
1. Territorial governance background.................................................................................. 138
2. Collaboration in provincial policy making...................................................................... 146
Conclusions and recommendations......................................................................................... 155
Annex. The IBA in the Ruhr: an experiment towards promoting regional creativity..... 159
Notes............................................................................................................................................ 162
Part III
Closeness to Metropolitan Areas: Benchmarks and Best Practices
Introduction................................................................................................................................ 167
Chapter 1. Providence, RhodeIsland, United States........................................................ 169
1. Regional context................................................................................................................ 169
2. The regional economies.................................................................................................... 171
3. The Providence development strategy.......................................................................... 174
4. The institutional framework: public private development.......................................... 176
5. Measuring performance: How to determine success.................................................... 179
Conclusions................................................................................................................................. 180
Chapter 2. Coventry, West Midlands, United Kingdom..................................................... 185
1. The regional context.......................................................................................................... 185
2. Institutional structure and territorial governance.......................................................... 187
3. Coventry and its economy................................................................................................ 191
4. Spatial development: the Unitary Development Plans................................................ 193
5. The West Midlands Regional Economic Strategy.......................................................... 195
6. Coventry’s economic development policies.................................................................. 195
7. Coventry’s spatial development policies....................................................................... 199
8. Effects of Coventry’s proximity to Birmingham.............................................................. 199
8 Conclusions................................................................................................................................. 200
© OECD 2001
Table of Contents
Chapter 3. Akron, Ohio, United States................................................................................. 203
1. The regional context.......................................................................................................... 203
2. Regional co-operation in a federal country.................................................................... 204
3. Recent economic history: the comeback region............................................................ 208
4. The Cleveland-Akron economy........................................................................................ 209
5. Addressing a regionalised labour market....................................................................... 213
Notes............................................................................................................................................ 217
Bibliography................................................................................................................................ 219
List of Tables
1. Migration trends within the Province of Bergamo.......................................................... 37
2. Population trends, 1981-91............................................................................................... 38
3. Age structure of the population, 1981-97........................................................................ 39
4. Non-European immigrants with stay permits, 1994-98................................................. 40
5. Disposable income, consumption and savings estimates, 1998.................................. 40
6. The geographical belts, 1996............................................................................................ 41
7. Disposable income per capita and per household....................................................... 42
8. Household consumption, 1994......................................................................................... 43
9. Main indicators of agriculture in Bergamo...................................................................... 49
10. Trade balances and import and export change, 1989-98.............................................. 50
11. Bergamo’s exports by sector, 1985-99.............................................................................. 51
12. International specialisation in Bergamo, Lombardy and Italy, 1985-99...................... 51
13. Participation, employment and unemployment rates, 1999........................................ 56
14. Average annual gross income per activity, sector and qualification, 1998.................. 58
15. Manufacturing firms by size, 1996.................................................................................... 63
16. Bergamo plants in partly or totally foreign owned companies by sector................... 65
17. Manufacturing local units and workers............................................................................ 66
18. Farms by altitude and type............................................................................................... 69
19. Final agricultural output, 1993-99..................................................................................... 70
20. Strengths and weaknesses of the Bergamo economy................................................... 74
21. Land use: typical ratios..................................................................................................... 78
22. Education supply in senior high schools........................................................................ 102
23. Employment by educational qualification..................................................................... 104
24. Protected areas in the Province of Bergamo.................................................................. 125
25. Dwellings used for vacations in the provinces of Lombardy........................................ 127
26. Numbers of visitors to the Lotto exhibition................................................................... 128
27. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Bergamo’s tourism.................. 129
28. Current account income per capita, 1997........................................................................ 140
29. Current account income breakdown, 1997...................................................................... 140
30. The Providence economy restructures, 1985-95............................................................ 172
31. Wages and employment in Rhode Island and Massachusetts..................................... 173
32. Personal income per capita.............................................................................................. 174
33. Employment structure in Coventry, Birmingham and the West Midlands................. 192
List of Figures
1. Net population change, 1990-97...................................................................................... 36
2. Birth rate, 1990-98.............................................................................................................. 37
3. Elderly index, 1981-98....................................................................................................... 39 9
© OECD 2001