ABSTRACT
This version of the book makes a fi rst attempt in this direction (Figure I.2). The economic crisis of the past fi ve to seven years requires interpretation of growth (and development) through models in which the macroeconomic elements play a prominent role; it is in fact today clear that macroeconomic conditions and trends decisively condition national growth trajectories, and with them inevitably those of the regions belonging to the nation. As the regional growth and development models of the past 60 years have shown, these assets are only in part material. Regional economists are increasingly convinced that the elements – like knowledge and creativity – which drive local competitiveness are of an intangible nature. They are linked to the ways in which actors perceive the reality, to relational elements, and to co-operation attitudes that arise and grow thanks to local socio-economic specifi cities present in the local context.
