The European Social Agenda and the ‘Ideas Gap': Some Implications for the Italian Regional Divide

The recent past has seen advances in our understanding of the European social agenda and regionalization. This paper brings these two areas of lively debate into contact with one another. It deals with the impact of new EU social policy initiatives on various regions within Italy. It argues that the ability of regions to assimilate the new spirit of the community varies greatly because of the ‘ideas gap'. Regions may fail to catch up leading regions if local institutions and policies cannot effectively assimilate new ideas. Catching up is far from automatic. The purpose of this article is not to provide blueprints for policies that would temper the regional divide but to help our understanding of the challenges ahead. In doing so, the article draws on data from the European Commission and from the Inquiry Commission on Poverty in Italy.