The geography of COVID-19 and the structure of local economies: The case of Italy

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the subnational spread of COVID-19 in Italy using an economic geography perspective. The striking spatial unevenness of COVID-19 suggests that the infection has hit economic core locations harder, and this raises questions about whether, and how, the subnational geography of the disease is connected to the economic base of localities. We provide some first evidence consistent with the possibility that the local specialization in geographically concentrated economic activities acts as a vehicle of disease transmission. This could generate a core-periphery pattern in the spatiality of COVID-19, which might follow the lines of the local economic landscape and the tradability of its outputs.