The Metamorphosis of the «Emilian model»: A First Assessment

JEL Classification: L11, L25, L50, L67 Keywords : Industrial districts, Product differentiation, Competitiveness, Industrial policy, R&D and tertiary education. SUMMARY The Italian productive system has traditionally built its strengths on the performance of its well-known «industrial districts» made up of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in a single town or area within a region: the proposition holds true, in particular, for a region like Emilia-Romagna. It follows that, if we want to understand the roots of the «Emilian model metamorphosis», we need to cast light on what is new in the industrial districts. The question that now arises is: are they the same as they were in the 1960s through the 1980s or are they changing? And if they are changing, how is the change occurring? In order to understand this, we will use for a first assessment a case study: the Carpi’s industrial district. The second part of the papers aims to analyse the development paths of one of Italy's most famous industrial districts over the last two decades (from the very end of the 1980s to mid-2000s). The focus of the study is on Carpi's clothing and knitwear industry, with the purpose of analysing the rise of a new generation of medium-sized enterprises, which we label as the «new elite». The analysis tries to shed light on the strategies that allow this new elite of firms to successfully face the challenges posed by an increasingly competitive international environment. In doing so, the study pays particular attention to product-innovation strategies (i.e., product differentiation, brand development, etc.), examining empirical evidence from within the district and analysing a number of Carpi-based successful firms. Drawing on the parallels with the models presented in both R. Prodi [1966] and S. Brusco [1982], and taking into account the new wave of globalization described by R. Baldwin [2006] and J. Sutton [2007], the paper concludes with some recommendations for Industrial policy (e.g.,, increased investment in R&D and higher education) and sketches a possible evolutionary course for the «Emilian model».