How to Develop the Periphery?

The Regional Integration Case of Basso-Ferrarese in Italy

This paper-a piece of the research output of the EU-funded project TERA-investigates the dynamics of development in the area of Basso Ferrarese, in Italy. The area is a relatively underdeveloped zone located in the otherwise wealthy Emilia Romagna. The first part of the paper identifies some area-specific factors affecting the poor economic performances of Basso-Ferrarese. In the second part, on the base of our findings, we run several CGE simulations focussing mainly on the potential impact of productivity gains. Finally, we discuss the policy implications of our results suggesting that investment in tourism and environmental and cultural heritage may allow for a more comprehensive path of development. Industrial development through productivity increase will have some positive effects which, however, will be mainly concentrated in relatively small areas.