Agglomeration economies and the spatial configuration of local labour systems in Italy

Changes in the Italian metropolitan hierarchy are explored by investigating the spatial distribution of per-land value added, assumed as a proxy of urban concentration and economic agglomeration. The analysis is carried out at the level of 686 local labour systems over the period 1996-2005. A spatial autocorrelation analysis of per-land value added standardized by population density identified the spatial structure of the main urban agglomerates and geographical gradients in Italy. An index of local competitiveness based on the elasticity of per-land value added to population density evaluated direction and intensity of change in the Italian urban hierarchy. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and non-parametric correlation analysis were run to disentangle the complexity of local development processes beyond the observed spatial and functional configuration of local districts, considering a large set of socioeconomic and territorial variables. Different levels of per-land value added discriminated local labour systems along the urban gradient, evidencing a clear North-South divide in Italy. Results definitely outline per-land value added as a proxy of the (evolving) metropolitan hierarchy in Italy.