Alpine Economy : Transition from Subsistence to Global Competition

Abstract

: The transition from subsistence to global division of labour and hence global competition is obvious and visible in the transformation of the economic structure, from agriculture to industry to a knowledge-based service economy. Obviously the Alpine realm is also subject to this process of segregation of well and less suited locations, probably with a wider than average span of location costs, and hence larger disparities and uneven (diverging) development. Given such conditions we want to explore the сonsequences for the А1pinе economy , and subsequently the Alps. Shall we regard the Alpine economy as something special, not subject to the general titles of development? Will there be a specifically Alpine eco- nomic policy to even out the gaps created by market conditions. Given the heterogeneity of the Alpine realm, it is safe to think of the Alpine ecconomy as a complementary system of uneven regions. The true challenge will therefore be to decide the dispute between free-market models with incoherent accidental decision processes along the line of the market logic, or some type of regional governance substituting chance by democratically approved perspectives. But what should be the criteria to base such decisions upon ?

Les territoires fragiles dans la région alpine : une proposition de lecture entre innovation et marginalité

“…Ces activités ont contribué en quelque façon au soutien et au développement des centres urbains alpins en leur donnant un rôle de référence crucial pour le territoire environnant; -dans d'autres cas, le territoire alpin a été volontairement ou involontairement protégé contre les phénomènes de «pollution» culturelle et/ou environnementale avec de fortes répercussions économiques, démographiques et sociales qui ont engendré un processus de dépeuplement lent et continu dans certaines zones, avec -par conséquent -des «disparités régionales» au sein de la même macro-région alpine (Boesch, 2005).…”

Fragile areas in the Alpine region: a reading between innovation and marginality

“…Instead, covering the entire length of the Alpine region, there are territories with specific resources characterised by different forms of development or decline: -in some cases, the Alpine territory has become the privileged site of various activities, comprising manufacturing, technology, agriculture and tourism; -in other cases, the Alpine territory has been protected, voluntarily or involuntarily, against the impacts of cultural and environmental pollution, with noteworthy economic, demographic and social repercussions that have produced a slow but continuous process of depopulation in certain areas, thereby generating "regional disparities" within the same Alpine macro-region (Boesch, 2005); -in other cases, the Alpine territory has become an area of urban dependence/ commuting, thus creating the so-called peri-urban areas.…”