SECTORAL STRUCTURE, COMPETITIVITY AND TERRITORIAL PERFORMANCE: THE ITALIAN LOCAL LABOUR SYSTEMS AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION

By means of a shift-share analysis and focusing on employment, the local sectoral specialization and competitivity performance of 611 Italian Local Labor Systems (LLSs) were compared to national trends between 2012 and 2017. Empirical results of this study indicates that a more profitable local productive structure and productivity allowed urban centres to outperform in comparison to average national outcomes. LLSs located on the (western) coast returned a more dynamic performance than the counterparts located inland, confirming the existence of an elevation gradient in Italy affecting economic dynamics. As to the southern LLSs, the recent employment growth was characterized by territorial dynamics that faded the usual North-South divide and prove to be valuable to reduce this gap.