The Growth of Southern Italy and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

The Italian peninsula has been suffering for decades from an internal rift that has slowed down the process of growth and development of the country. Although it is a nation-wide problem, it is often referred to only as “The Mezzogiorno’s crisis”. More than a third of the country has a socio-economic structure that is not able to grow at the same rate of the Northern regions, and that mainly absorbs and dissipates resources and funds. The Italian government has tried (and is still trying) to reverse the backwardness of Southern Italy’s economy, but so far it has not succeeded. This research follows the route of the latest public interventions and takes a snapshot of the current economic situation of the Mezzogiorno. The purpose of this territorial analysis of Southern Italy is to analyze first the region’s numerous issues, which do not allow the Mezzogiorno to grow. Subsequently the research aims to find evidence of the benefits that could be reaped from the establishment of a free trade area amongst Southern Italy and its Mediterranean partners. The gravity equation analysis of Italian provinces’ exports towards Euro-Mediterranean partners has been used to detect the importance of the country’s strategic location in order to improve trade and facilitate the development process of the Mezzogiorno.