ABSTRACT
Over the last decade a vast body of literature has addressed the issue of the influence of externalities on local growth (starting with Glaeser et al. 1992, until Henderson 2003, to mention just a few). Such literature has, however, paid relatively little attention to the wider scenario in which such phenomena are rooted, that of an ongoing process of structural change that is transforming our economies from manufacturing to service ones. 1 Such a process has important implications for the analysis of the geography of economic activities. In fact, the spatial distribution and functioning of industrial economies have been shaped by the characteristics of prevailing levels of production and distribution technology, modes of work organisation, labour and capital mobility. All these features are currently changing dramatically as a result of the relocation and deverticalisation of mass production industries followed by the development of new service activities, the transformation of cultural and leisure activities from pastimes into economic businesses and the emerging role of information and communications technologies. These trends are modifying both the economic geography of local production systems and the manner in which these are linked to a broader economy. Economic landscapes are increasingly being shaped by a complex mixture of forces operating simultaneously at a global, national and local level, with the common denominator being the structural shift from manufacturing to services in the most developed economies.
