Recent developments in innovation theory and policy have led policymakers to assign particular importance to supporting networks of cooperation among heterogeneous economic actors, especially in production systems composed of small and medium enterprises. Such innovative policies call for...

We discuss how the outcomes of policy evaluation processes can provide valuable feedback in order to design more effective policy interventions. We address our analysis to policies directed at promoting innovation by fostering generative relationships among heterogeneous organizations. The...

This research proposes an investigation into the creation and the later development, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, of a private company called CRIT Srl, constituted by a group of large and medium-sized mechanical firms. The purpose of CRIT is not only to act as a technology broker,...

This paper will discuss two fundamental concepts of industrial policy devel-oped by Sebastiano Brusco: the role of real services to support district firms and the role of real services needed to transform groups of isolated firms into systems of firms; and the promotion of widespread changes at...

The paper represents a first tentative analysis of the phenomenon of rural poverty in in the European Union's regions. In the first part, the paper discusses the problem of defining rural areas and examines the indicators used for international comparisons, notably the OECD definition, which...

The essay, presented as opening lecture at the first edition of the Summer School of Local Development “Sebastiano Brusco” (Seneghe, July 2006), outlines the original contribution of Sebastiano Brusco on two related issues: theory and tools for analyzing the industrial structure and for...