The Italian industrial districts and transport/communication facilities

Economic performances of Italian local systems of small and medium enterprise have been considered of the utmost interest by foreign and Italian scholars. This paper aims at analysing the relation between the Italian pattern of "industrial district" and transport/communication services, as well as accessibility levels. Our purpose is also to investigate the influence of accessibility levels on the economic performance of districts, and to survey whether an high accessibility is a key location factor affecting the rise of a district, or, on the contrary, the factors giving rise to a district are effective despite a poor level of accessibility and of transport/communication facilities. The analysis has been carried out by comparing Italian districts with metropolitan areas, and administrative Regions and Provinces, from the points of view of geographical position and Location Quotients (LQ). The analysis shows that examined industrial districts have no remarkable comparative advantage so far as accessibility is concerned and have a tendency to search and buy outside their needs in transport services for goods and passengers, as well as in communication services.