Convergenza economica ed evoluzione strutturale: quale ruolo per l’agricoltura italiana

In the light of the strategic document Europe2020, the paper, focusing on the Italian regions, investigatesthe economic convergence process, from 1980-2007, underlining the contribution of agriculture, interpreted within the structural change emerged over the time period analysed. The fixed effects panel data approach adopted, allows to detect the region-effect at the basis of specific territorial interventions that should be directed, in particular, to agriculture whereregional gaps in the production functions are more accentuated. Results underline the need for establishing a connection among the different and alternative theoretical prescriptions on convergence and point out new elements on the impact of the economic structural change on aggregate growth and convergence related, primarily, to the structural tensions between agriculture and services and to the strong increase in agricultural productivity as a consequence of the labour force allocation process.