This paper provides evidence on the evolution of the economic divide between the South and the Centre-North of Italy in the period 2007-2021. In particular, the study describes the widening of regional disparities observed after the double-dip recession of 2008-09 and 2011-13, as well as the most recent fallout from the pandemic crisis.
In the South of Italy, the drop in GDP between 2007 and 2014 was sharper than in the rest of the country, especially during the sovereign debt crisis; the subsequent recovery was milder. In 2019 the GDP in the South was still 10 per cent lower than at the 2007 peak, compared with a 2 per cent reduction in the Centre-North of Italy. Until now the pandemic crisis has not had significant effects on regional economic disparities. Over the period of analysis of this study, the structural weaknesses of southern Italy's economy, relative to the rest of the country, have expanded.
