Charness and Grieco (2019) have experimentally shown that financial incentives have a positive impact on individual creativity, but only in the case of “close” creativity, i.e., when there are constraints to the creative task that a subject has to accomplish. In this paper, we build on the same “close” creativity assignments of Charness and Grieco (2019) and analyze with undergraduate students and with experts in creativity the interplay between monetary incentives and group cooperation in creative assignments. We introduce a novel model of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation to group collaboration in creativity and run a theorydriven experiment to test our experimental hypotheses on the crowding out of intrinsic motivation due to extrinsic motivation to group creativity. We find more creativity in the group than in the individual treatment, apart when there are explicit monetary incentives to co-working (sharing ideas) in the creative assignment. Therefore, while Charness and Grieco (2019) show a positive interplay between monetary incentives (extrinsic individual motivation) and “close” creativity at the individual level, we provide evidence of a negative interplay between monetary incentives and “close” creativity at the group level (crowding out of intrinsic group motivation). Furthermore, and again in line with our model predictions, the latter effect is found more in the experimental sessions with experts in creativity than in those with undergraduate students.

Human capital is crucial for economic development, and the academic literature has extensively studied the link between education and economic progress. While the number of studies focusing on the impact of academic institutions on local economies is increasing, attention to universities’ role as ex-post drivers of long-term development in post-shock contexts remains scant. Building on these premises, this study focuses on the case of L’Aquila following the 2009 earthquake. Specifically, building on primary data collected by an independent survey in 2019, our research aim is to evaluate how and whether the establishment of the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) has generated a positive effect on the city’s rebirth after the 2009 shock, focusing on the perceptions of L’Aquila inhabitants. Results show a positive perception of the GSSI as beneficial to the reconstruction policy, particularly regarding the attraction of human capital and the city’s image. In contrast, social capital does not seem to play a relevant role in policy perception. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first attempt to evaluate the local success of such knowledge-driven policy based on dwellers’ perceptions. Moreover, it aims to provide a series of guidelines to evaluate similar projects ex-post and to assess the feasibility of future aftershock strategic implementations ex-ante.

The COVID-19 pandemic might be considered a turning point for the economic development of several countries. Nonetheless, humans have always faced natural and man-made shocks – e.g., the Great Recession of 2008. This work focuses on the potential relationship between the economic impact of the two crises. We assume that the changed economic structure after the Great Recession might have made the regions more connected and, therefore, more vulnerable to the propagation of the pandemic. We then analyze the excess mortality associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and the trend in the sectoral composition of Italian provinces (NUTS-3 regions) in response to the Great Recession. Using different models shows that the relationship between excess mortality and the pro-trend sectoral composition (i.e., the switch toward a sectoral composition aligned with the national one) is positive and significant.

This paper focuses on the theoretical and methodological configuration of what we define as the 'Remote Habitability Method' (RHM). This place-sensitive epistemological and research-making approach aims at understanding what makes remote places inhabitable. While quantitative, economic growth-oriented approaches have long set research and policy agendas regarding marginalised areas, we argue that more fine-grained, fieldwork-based approaches are needed to understand the process of being left behind, as well as the patterns of actions, interactions and affections that shape the infrastructures of daily inhabitation in these remote areas. First, we situate the contribution of the RHM in the extensions of the geographical debates on the habitability and social infrastructure of cities in remote, left-behind places. Then, we exploit it to investigate the case study of the Italian institutional geography of marginal areas, that is, the 'aree interne' (inner areas), to showcase the potential of the RHM as an epistemological and methodological lens. To do so, we draw upon archival research, semi-structured interviews and empirical materials collected during the multisite fieldwork we conducted in the municipalities that comprise the Gran Sasso-Valle Subequana inner area.

Focusing on the devastating 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila (Italy), we investigate how local economies adapt and specialise after disasters. We apply a large-scale synthetic control across multiple indices (specialisation, diversity, complexity) over a long period (2004-20). Results show persistent specialisation and concentration, a halving of diversity, and a delayed decline in complexity, with resilience stemming from the administrative continuity of essential services rather than from renewal. Finally, we find that centralised governance reflected and reinforced political-institutional path dependency, leading to reconstruction bias. This suggests that without strategic efforts toward diversification, disasters can consolidate structural lock-ins and long-term fragility.

This paper addresses the theoretical and empirical gap regarding the relationship between place branding and regional economic resilience during the 2008 Great Recession, focusing on Italian inner areas as defined by the National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI) classification. Specifically, it investigates whether labels linked to preservation and quality of nature and landscape, agriculture and livestock production, and cultural–historical–architectural heritage helped mitigate the impact of the crisis. The econometric analysis reveals a mixed relationship between these place-branding factors and the resilience patterns, with predominantly adverse effects. These findings should be carefully considered in light of the growing place-based policy emphasis on peripheral areas at the Italian and EU levels.

Under the threat of climate change, the world has become increasingly unsafe, with extreme weather events causing devastation and high economic costs. These impacts are heterogeneous because of the interaction between different regional climate changes and the varying socio-economic characteristics of affected places. Climate change also impacts the management of cultural heritage sites. We then propose a method to identify heritage sites at risk from climate change issues, considering the single components of risk, namely both the natural hazard and the resilient/vulnerable local characteristics that may increase or mitigate the potential damage. The link between the natural and human spheres is, in fact, crucial for the development of suitable mitigation and prevention strategies, particularly relevant for developing countries that suffer from scarce economic resources. Overall, this work aims to provide a method to detect heritage sites at risk and a decision support tool for strategically managing cultural sites. We focus on Italy since it is one of the countries with a higher endowment of cultural heritage. However, thanks to its high replicability, this tool might be exported and adopted in different contexts and scenarios.

This paper focuses on the assemblage of material and immaterial infrastructures, actors and multilevel policies that enhance (or impair) what we define as "remote habitability" in left-behind, remote areas. Applying the ethnographic sensitivity urged by Tomaney et al. (2024) for understanding in-depth the "making, un-making and re-making" of contested social infrastructures in left-behind places, we present theoretical reflections and empirical evidence that draw upon a multisite fieldwork in the municipalities that compose the "Gran Sasso-Valle Subequana" subgroup within the Italian "National Strategy for Inner Areas" national policy framework (SNAI). The archival research, semi-structured interviews and empirical observations that engaged institutional and non-institutional actors let emerge patterns of action, discourse and perception of social infrastructures and resources that are necessary for grappling with the identification and conceptualization of "remote habitability".

In this article, we analyse the structure of the Italian cultural and creative economy, focusing on peripheral areas. We highlight patterns of specialisation and spatial dependency through employment data and firms’ data. In addition, we develop a novel data set by collecting data that use the least aggregated territorial unit, that is, Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics level 4 (from the French version Nomenclature des Unités territoriales statistiques); thus, we create a harmonised taxonomy of cultural and creative industries at a four-digit level. Our multi-step analysis highlights specific geographical patterns and a clear spatial organisation in inner areas. This study’s results may benefit evidence-based policy-setting in the under-investigated context of culture-led development and the creative economy of peripheral areas. JEL classifications: L8, R12

What are the economic, social and institutional mechanisms that make it possible for peripheral areas to regain centrality? To address this issue, this paper takes stock of the current scientific debate on peripheries. Our reasoning is based on a general assumption according to which simple geographic features do not determine per se socio-spatial divisions. Peripheral areas are not natural. By contrast, they are the outcomes of more or less intentional processes that imply hierarchical and power relationships, unequal allocation of economic resources, and reliance upon relational patterns and social norms. Therefore, it is essential to observe how and whether multidimensional socio-economic changes occur within peripheral areas, deconstructing their marginality. In this regard, this paper highlights four main endogenous mechanisms upon which a de-marginalization process may rely: (1) transformation in the features of the local institutional make-up; (2) emergence of collective actions and 'self-governance' processes at the local level; (3) renovation of elite groups; and (4) establishing economic renewal and innovation.

Regional Science Policy & PracticeVolume 15, Issue 7 p. 1401-1405 INTRODUCTION Pathbreaking trajectories: Socioeconomic and institutional de-peripheralization of marginal areas Luca Storti, Corresponding Author Luca Storti [email protected] CPS Department, University of Torino, Turin, Italy Correspondence Luca Storti, CPS Department, University of Torino, Turin, Italy. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorGiulia Urso, Giulia Urso Social Sciences, Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorNeil Reid, Neil Reid orcid.org/0000-0003-0520-1023 Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USASearch for more papers by this author Luca Storti, Corresponding Author Luca Storti [email protected] CPS Department, University of Torino, Turin, Italy Correspondence Luca Storti, CPS Department, University of Torino, Turin, Italy. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorGiulia Urso, Giulia Urso Social Sciences, Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorNeil Reid, Neil Reid orcid.org/0000-0003-0520-1023 Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 29 August 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/rsp3.12726Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume15, Issue7Special Issue: Pathbreaking trajectories: Socio‐economic and Institutional de‐peripheralization of marginal AreasSeptember 2023Pages 1401-1405 RelatedInformation

The concept of periphery, going beyond the mere interpretation in geographical terms, incorporates a 'relational' character that is implicitly characterized by connotations of power and inequality. Peripheries can be actively created as an outcome of shifts in economic and political decision-making at various scales. The recent populist wave has brought to the fore the issue of peripheries as 'left behind' places, striking back in the ballot boxes. In this paper, we investigate the role of different dimensions of peripherality and their changing geographies on populist voting patterns by analysing the growth of non-traditional parties between the general elections held in Italy in 2013 and 2018. First, we consider a spatial dimension of peripherality, that is, the geography of access to services of general interest. Second, we explore some factors that might be associated with a condition of peripherality, meant as marginality. We find that the growth of discontent in Italy has different explanatory factors in core and peripheral areas. Irrespective of geographical peripherality, where, however, populist votes are more concentrated, our findings reveal that a condition of marginality may feed a sense of revenge connected to the feeling of 'not mattering' also in urban areas.

The cultural and creative industries (CCIs) have variously been seen as a stimulus for urban and regional development. They were also one of the few sectors in the UK and European Union countries to weather the storm of the 2008 Great Recession. Starting from the curiosity aroused by these premises, and given the paucity of studies on Italian CCIs, we analyse the growth trend of the sector following the economic shock of the Great Recession to ascertain whether this trend also held for Italy. We use data from the Aida-Bureau van Dijk database on more than 181,000 enterprises for the period 2010-18. Information on the number of employees from the cultural and creative enterprises is collected for 18 NACE Rev. 2 sectors, with the aim of disentangling the contribution of each subsector to the growth of the industry. While information is available at the firm level, we use NUTS-3-level information. Using a system generalised method of moments (GMM-SYS) approach, and controlling for some socio-economic characteristics, we examine the determinants of the growth of CCIs in the post-shock period, ultimately contributing to the underexplored debate on the resilience of the sector in Italy and accounting for its macro-regional and peripherality effects.

ABSTRACT Against the discourse according to which peripheral areas are places doomed to an inevitable fate of constant demographic decline, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the local determinants fostering adaptability to prolonged challenges connected to a condition of peripherality. Exploiting the classification produced within the Italian National Strategy for Inner Areas, we investigate the determinants of positive demographic long‐term growth paths of Italian peripheral municipalities using population variation as the dependent variable in a spatially deep lagged model relying on census data from 1971 to 2011. Our longitudinal study provides evidence on the positive effects of demographic and labour‐skills related factors on population dynamics, that may prove to be crucial in supporting policymakers when formulating place‐sensitive strategies to enhance the adaptive capability of places in the face of long‐term slow‐burning pressures.

The chapter closes the book by synthetizing how it consists of a collection of chapters dissecting the complex interplays between economies, institutions, and territories. Accounting for these interconnections is an intriguing way to look at the whole social anatomy (Hedstrom, 2005). In the first part of the chapter, we claim that the book offers one main general insight. The nexuses between economies–institutions–territories must be investigated through a multi-disciplinary comparative perspective. The comparison can be synchronic, i.e., concerning different territorial areas, or, vice versa, diachronic, i.e., relating to the dynamic evolution of these links over time. By observing the connections between economies–institutions–territories, one can grasp both change and persistence in the social world: the reconfiguration of institutional elements, economic processes, and their kinds of embedding in place. In the second part of the chapter, we pinpoint some promising research avenues that have already been suggested in some of the chapters and deserve further exploration. We draw upon the four sections of the book to illustrate a tentative future research agenda.

The social and economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are at risk of exacerbating the pre-existing intergenerational and interregional inequalities between and within countries, such as those between core and peripheral areas. In particular, in the latter, especially in Italy, the lack of opportunities and access to essential services may affect the current and new generations to come, while also compromising the development of the country as a whole. Against this backdrop, understanding young people's aspirations and needs is vital to produce evidence-based knowledge to inform policies promoting opportunities to stay in or return to these territories. This paper investigates young people's migration propensity, uncovering the individual characteristics and the factors explaining their propensity to leave their place or to stay and work there. Data come from a nationwide survey carried out on a representative sample of about 950 young people residing in peripheral areas of Italy, via a questionnaire designed and administered as part of the research-action project 'Giovani Dentro'. The study provides new and timely information about the difficulties, desires and plans of young people who choose to stay in or return to these territories.

Landscape as vocation: an exploration of the development strategies of some Italian inner areas . – Going beyond a limiting approach of the protection of landscape as constraining, this might be interpreted as an asset for development. Building on this background, this contribution, analyzing the local development strategies produced by some of the project areas included in the Italian National Strategy for Inner Areas, investigates to what extent landscape is interpreted as a driver for development, or as vocation, in places where its preservation and protection are a matter of paramount importance.

How can we analyze the institutional reactions to shocking events producing abrupt and substantial changes? To deal with this question, the paper assumes an interdisciplinary perspective by combining geography and sociology. After defining the foundational concepts of shocking events and institutions, the paper suggests that the outcomes of such events in respect of institutional frameworks should be analyzed at the territorial level as 'spaces of rupture and reconfiguration'. In the concluding section, the collection of the articles included in the Special Issue - to which this paper serves as lead essay - are presented.

Theory posits that situations of existential threat will enhance prosociality in general and particularly toward others perceived as belonging to the same group as the individual (parochial altruism). Yet, the global character of the COVID-19 pandemic may blur boundaries between ingroups and outgroups and engage altruism at a broader level. In an online experiment, participants from the U.S. and Italy chose whether to allocate a monetary bonus to a charity active in COVID-19 relief efforts at the local, national, or international level. The purpose was to address two important questions about charitable giving in this context: first, what influences the propensity to give, and second, how is charitable giving distributed across different levels of collective welfare? We found that personal exposure to COVID-19 increased donations relative to those not exposed, even as levels of environmental exposure (numbers of cases locally) had no effect. With respect to targets of giving, we found that donors predominantly benefitted the local level; donations toward country and world levels were half as large. Social identity was found to influence charity choice in both countries, although an experimental manipulation of identity salience did not have any direct effect.