Exploring the role of industrial structure for regional economic resilience

The evolutionary approach of regional economic resilience suggests that an external shock can lead to a structural change and the development of new industrial specializations. Among its determinants, a role is played by the industrial structure where a certain degree of specialisation or diversification may influence the response of regions to shocks. The article aims at investigating the role of the relatedness of new specialisations to the existing industrial structure in favouring resilience of territories. Evaluating the resilience of Italian provinces in relation to the economic crisis of 2008, the analysis seeks to understand if provinces who resisted and recovered better, followed a ‘related’ or ‘unrelated’ diversification strategy. Conclusions discusses the implications for the policy debate on smart specialisation.