economic activity in the region. However, companies such as Finsider produce much more steel than they can sell. The surplus is sold at reduced rates.
Industrial employment has tripled in the region to 1.4 million people as a result of the Cassa Scheme.
Lasting Problems
Although the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno brought improvements, several difficulties still exist in the region:
• The large steelworks, which were the focus for nearly 75 per cent of new industrial employment in the region, were far more capital intensive than labour intensive. This means that the industries cost a lot of money to build, but did not generate many jobs. Furthermore, these industries are prone to job losses due to rationalisation and mechanisation.
• Outward migration, although declining, continues as young workers are attracted to better-paying jobs in the north.
• The Cassa caused uneven development in the region as coastal areas attracted far more investment than those further inland. This has led to an increase in the income gap within the region.
• The economic recession that began in 2008 resulted in higher numbers of
: Fig. 23.19 Distribution of industry across the Mezzogiorno: note the absence of industry south of Naples along the western half of the region.
Naples 60 000 50 000 40 000 30 000 20 000 10 000 2000 2002 2004 2006 Year : Fig. 23.20 GDP per capita is much lower in Mezzogiorno centres.
workers in the Mezzogiorno losing their jobs than in the north of Italy. This is due to the lack of employment flexibility in the region where workers are trained for one job only.
GEO DICTIONARY Prevailing Issues in the Mezzogiorno
• The government is continuing its efforts to decentralise some of the industries to areas further inland in an attempt to develop industry more evenly throughout the region.
• Since the Cassa Scheme ended in 1984, the EU has part-funded infrastructural improvements in port regions such as Naples and Taranto. The Regional Development Fund also aims to further improve transport links in the region.
The government must tackle the continuing high levels of poverty in the region.
REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY 431
Decentralise: to spread out industry to several areas rather than concentrating it in a single location
Employment flexibility: when workers are trained and able to carry out more than one role or job
2008 2010 2012 Turin Palermo Rome Milan Gela Ragusa Palermo Messina
