ABSTRACT
Financial agencies and development boards have been created in almost all Italian regions. In Emilia-Romagna a regional board for the 'economic valorisation of the territory' (Ente Regionale per la Valortzzazione Economtca del Temiono, ERVET) was created by the region in December 1973 as a joint-stock company. The region may finance further projects, defined as 'special projects', that are of specific interest for the region and must be the matter of ad hoc agreements between ERVET and the regional government. The role of ERVET has been reaffirmed through the recent law which reformed it in 1993, pinpointing 'innovation, internationalisation, and finance' as the strategic priorities for the years ahead. ERVET has traditionally been a highly relevant contributor to the fundamental decisions of the regional industrial policy of Emilia-Romagna. The crisis of ERVET was the most significant event of the industrial policy of Emilia-Romagna during the 1990s.
