From Marshall's to the Italian "industrial districts". A brief critical reconstruction

Abstract

This paper begins by reconstructing the historical genesis of the notion of industrial district, focusing on the contribution of Alfred Marshall, the economist who is thought to have discovered this system. The paper also shows how the notion of industrial district stems from the successful wedding of Marshall's keen observations of contemporary industrial reality, mainly in Great Britain, with the desire to provide a way out of the difficulties inherent in classical economic theory and answer the challenges posed by the class struggle (e.g., economic nations). The economic conditions that fostered the development of industrial districts in Great Britain recurred in roughly the same manner in Italy after the Second World War. A few scholars studied, with an open mind, the light industrialization that was occurring in certain regions of Italy and, after taking a fresh look at Marshall's theories, rediscovered the phenomenon of industrial districts. The wealth of literature they produced soon gained attention outside of Italy. This paper, however, does not dwell on what occurred outside of Italy; it focuses instead on the development of the industrial district phenomenon and its theoretical underpinnings in the Italian economy. In particular, it studies the link between the industrial district system and the manufacture of typical made in Italy products as it seeks to explain the competitive advantage that Italian manufacturers enjoy in many industries (for example, textiles and garments, footwear, furniture, etc.). The third part of the paper presents some of the most recent developments in the study of Italian industrial districts. The main point of the paper is that, for certain types of products, industrial districts can provide a viable alternative to a system based on a single company (with one or more plants) or a network of companies. We shall never fully appreciate the importance of what Adam Smith wrote unless we understand the importance it had for him. For him it was a matter of living truths, strengthening and arousing hope, that encourage, almost force us, to search for further truths. And if we wish them to be useful they must be living truths for us too. Alfred and Mary Marshall, 1879.