Regional disparities and industrial structure: territorial capital and productivity in Italian firms

Abstract

The role of territorial capital (TC) on the productivity of Italian firms is investigated by constructing indicators for eight dimensions of TC in a first attempt to capture a wide variety of regional resources. When imposing homogeneous TC effects on all firms, it is found that technological, social, institutional, financial and infrastructure capital drive productivity. However, only technological and artistic capital contribute to reduce regional disparities. Across industries, financial capital and infrastructure increase productivity in companies operating in a wide range of sectors. Industrial policies should consider sectoral heterogeneity and north–south differences to effectively boost productivity performance.