No. 421 - The structure of supply and geographical disparities in the information and communication technologies sector in Italy

This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the size and the industrial and geographic distribution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector in Italy. The discussion is organized into two sections. The first, based on OECD list of countries in “ICT Intensity Groups”, show that Italy is in line with OECD average for ICT employment intensity but presents a very low ratio either of R&D to value added or of ICT trade as share of total trade. The second section, based essentially on census data, describes geographic and industrial concentration in Italy ICT industries at the 5-digit industry level. Some empirical evidence is also presented to link this geographic concentration to the existence of agglomeration externalities.