Large cities are a key driver of technological innovation and economic growth. This paper investigates the developments of Italian metropolitan areas, building on insights from economic geography and innovation studies. The key questions to be investigated are the following: (i) Which trajectories of population and economic change can be identified for Italian metropolitan areas? Are we facing a process of economic and technological polarisation that may worsen the country’s imbalances? (ii) What is the role played in such developments by technological and structural change, and in particular by digital technologies and the rise of finance? The empirical analysis investigates the patterns of technological and economic indicators for the period 2000–2018 for 14 Italian metropolitan areas, proxied by their provinces, providing evidence of growing polarisation between Milan, where most positive developments are concentrated, and the other metropolitan zones. Rome has been losing ground in most fields; Venice and Genoa are characterised by industrial decline. Few mid-sized cities show some economic dynamism—including Bologna and Cagliari—while most southern and insular Italian cities increase their gap relative to the performances of leading metropolitan areas.

中文翻译：

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2000-2018 年意大利大都市区的两极分化：结构性变化、技术和增长


大城市是技术创新和经济增长的关键驱动力。本文以经济地理学和创新研究的见解为基础，调查了意大利大都市区的发展。需要调查的关键问题如下：（i） 意大利大都市区可以确定哪些人口和经济变化轨迹？我们是否正面临一个可能加剧该国失衡的经济和技术两极分化过程？（ii） 技术和结构变革，特别是数字技术和金融的兴起，在这些发展中发挥了什么作用？实证分析调查了 2000 年至 2018 年期间意大利 14 个大都市区的技术和经济指标模式，由其省份代理，提供了证明米兰（最积极发展集中的地方）与其他大都市区之间日益两极分化的证据。罗马在大多数领域都在失去阵地;威尼斯和热那亚的特点是工业衰落。很少有中等城市表现出一定的经济活力，包括博洛尼亚和卡利亚里，而大多数意大利南部和岛屿城市相对于主要大都市地区的表现而言，差距更大。