A Sustainability 3D Framework of the 20 Regions of Italy and Comparison With World Countries

Abstract

An Input-State-Output (I-S-O) framework has been recently introduced to investigate the multidimensional aspects of sustainability (namely environmental, social and economic ones) of economic systems through a thermodynamically and logically ordered scheme. This approach provides an overall view of sustainability (the three dimensions together) facilitating the convergence of information from sets of indicators without aggregating results into single numbers and, consequently, losing information. In this paper we present the application of the I-S-O framework for the 20 regions of Italy. The emergy flow, the Gini Index of income distribution, and the regional Gross Domestic Product are used as systemic indicators for input, state, and output of the systems, respectively. We observe diversity among regions in the light of very different values of the three indicators. The per capita use of resources in the North of Italy is generally 2 to 4 times larger than in the South (excluding Puglia and Sardegna); the regional GDP per capita in the North doubles that of the Southern regions. The distribution of income, that is slightly better in two regions of the north (Trentino AA and Friuli VG), some of Center Italy, and Puglia in the South, only partially reflects that North-South discrepancy. Using the same measures, the 20 Regions are included in a global overview recently produced for 99 world countries. Regional values cover a wide range of countries; nevertheless, our values tend to be more similar to those of developed countries. Based on indicator values, Regions are also categorized, which enables interpretation of this overview at both sub-national and supra-national level.

Forum: Populism, Identity Politics, and the Archaeology of Europe

“…A roughly Marxist analysis proposed some years ago regarding the populist attitudes of Sardinian (and Calabrian) revenge archaeology noted the connection to regions suffering social fragmentation and economic and cultural marginalization (Pulselli et al, 2019;Vanzetti, in press).…”

“…A roughly Marxist analysis proposed some years ago regarding the populist attitudes of Sardinian (and Calabrian) revenge archaeology noted the connection to regions suffering social fragmentation and economic and cultural marginalization (Pulselli et al, 2019; Vanzetti, in press). The two situations are different: Sardinia has an average GDP higher than the other southern and island regions of Italy, but a fundamental divide exists between the towns and tourist coast and the socially fragmented and economically impoverished hinterland.…”

“…In Italy, archaeology is seemingly not particularly relevant for populist feelings; nevertheless, some significant populist entanglements exist, which intertwine with longer-term political and economic trends (Pulselli et al, 2019).…”

The Italian National Strategy for Sustainable Development and the Covid-19 impact: a regional analysis

“…Although there are still few works that evaluated the sustainable development of Italian Regions in relation to Agenda 2030 or NSDS, the gap between the North and the South of the country was already made explicit (e.g., Alaimo and Maggino, 2019;D'Adamo et al, 2021;Ionescu et al 2021;Pulselli et al, 2019). Alaimo and Maggino (2019) evaluated the sustainability of the Italian regions, focusing only on the first three Sustainable Development Goals.…”