Economic development and international migration in the Sangro Valley, Abruzzo – Italy

le but de mettre en évidence une corrélation positive entre la mobilité des capitaux financiers et la mobilité des capitaux humains.

The idea and the model 1 The economist Becattini, when referring to Italy, states "there are several ideal types which can express the "boot", like the masks in the comedy of art. This diversity of the Italian character in comparison to that of other populations, and the current ample range of regional characteristics, is (according to me) our main disadvantage and, at the same time, our secret weapon" (Becattini, 1995-96).
single piece of the "mosaic", is not interpreted. And such a conviction is valid for all the manifestations of human actions. 3 In this paper, we will focus on an Italian territory that could represent one of those "ideal types" and one of those "regional characteristics" that Becattini talks about. 4 The territory in question is that of the Sangro Valley 1 . Located in the southern part of the Abruzzo region, this area is characterised by the presence of a strong physical featurethe Sangro River. Marked by two important natural barriers -the Adriatic Sea to the east with its coastal line, and the Apennines to the west -the area slopes down to the coastal and internal hills and to the river valley plain. 5 The focus on this territory will cover two specific aspects: economic development and human mobility. It will be demonstrated how, historically, economic destinies crossed the migratory paths of those who left the valley, of those who came back and of those who arrived for the first time. It will be demonstrated how each step in the course of economic development corresponds to a specific step in human migratory paths. It is our conviction that, on one hand, these two routes cannot be disconnected in a given area, but, on the other, each territory experiences perhaps similar but never identical paths, which depend on local specificities within the context of that "diversity" that, according to Becattini, characterizes the entire Italian situation. 6 In this paper, the relationship between economic development and human mobility will be investigated by following the model proposed by Montanari (infra). Reference will be made in particular to the permanent and international components of the model, where "permanent" should be interpreted here as the "stable" and "settled" component of migrants (i.e. residents).

Development trajectories 7
The development path that characterised the Sangro Valley 2 after World War II can be represented in three different phases 3 . 8 The first phase, which occurred between World War II and the beginning of Seventies, is characterised by an economy that was mostly based on agriculture, local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and local handicraft. 9 The active population in the agriculture sector represented 62% of the total active population in the area in the year 1951, but the percentage dropped to 38% in the year 1971. The profitability of agricultural activity was very differentiated. It was fair in the valley and along the coast, where the areas were characterised by intensive and specialized cultivations, but it was very low on the high hills and mountains, where the areas were characterised by extensive agriculture with strong pathologies. The main problems in the sector were the high fragmentation of the land property (the average dimension of farms was 3.5-4.0 hectares) and the lack of associative and cooperative forms that could compensate for this deficiency. 10 With regard to the dynamics of the secondary sector, the area presented some industrial evidence of secular tradition, especially in the mountain areas. The pasta, metal working and wool industries are just a few examples. These were activities which were established along the roads crossed by the Bourbon armies during previous centuries, conceived for the benefit of these armies. They mostly consisted in artisan enterprises of local interest which, in the year 1971, occupied only 4 % of the resident population. The average dimensions of these enterprises were very small, around three employees per local unit. The economic sectors represented were those with low start-up costs, which required neither a high technological level nor special managerial skills. These included the food, textile, clothing, footwear, leather, wood and furniture sectors (Clementino, 1995). These characteristics, which, certainly not alone, had contributed to the success of the SMEs in the industrial districts of Central and North-Eastern Italy, played a part, indeed, in the industrial crisis in this area. This industry, which was small, traditional, concentrated and non-specialized, experienced a slump during the Sixties.
11 The second phase, which took place between the beginning of the Seventies and the end of the Eighties, begins by finding a solution to the local agriculture and industrial crisis. This period is characterised by the introduction of large enterprises, in particular within the mechanical sector, and by the creation of a system of SMEs working as sub-suppliers of the large enterprises. This takes place in a top-down logic, which includes: • Incentive policies to encourage the delocation of industrial production from Northern Italy characterised the history of Italy (De Rosa, 1997). The most important body of this intervention was the so called "Cassa per il Mezzogiorno" (Fund for the Mezzogiorno), later transformed into "Agenzia per la promozione dello sviluppo del Mezzogiorno" (  firms, on the other hand to the unsustainable conditions of life in the cities. The workers in the factories had to suffer long and hard hours of working, high instability of the job, very low safety precautions and inadequate salaries. Outside the workplace, the workers had to experience very difficult conditions of life in terms of housing, social services, school and transport. All that situation was particularly heavy for the Southern immigrants who, "far from being the grateful 'guests of the city' as La Stampa would have liked, were highly critical of a society which had forced them to migrate and which gave them so little (...). The Piedmontese have never had the anger which these uprooted southerners have got" (Ginsborg, 1990). • Local policies to attract external investments put into effect by local actors, through the construction of infrastructures and the offer of advantageous conditions for the establishment of large enterprises. In 1970, the "Consortium for the development of the Sangro-Aventino industrial area" was constituted. It built all the infrastructures in the industrial areas. Actors in the processes of attraction of external investments were the local authorities, in particular the municipalities; they conducted the negotiations with the big industrial groups. These processes were inspired by Perroux's "pôles de croissance" development idea.
12 The result of the joint action of the three factors listed above was the creation of important industrial firms, amongst which the Piaggio (1974), Honda (1975) and Fiat-Peugeot-Citroen (1978) groups. 13 The overall impact of the external enterprises on employment was remarkable. Almost 70% of the 11,000 employees working in the manufacturing industry in the area in 1991 were employed in the typical non-local enterprise sectors (non metalliferous minerals, means of transport, electronics, electro-technology, chemistry, rubber, plastic). The automobile sector alone covered almost 40% of the entire area's manufacturing employment. The number of jobs in the industry doubled from 1971 to 1991, increasing from 7,974 to 16,625; although lower, an increase was also registered in the number of jobs in commerce, rising from 5,166 in 1971 to 6,177 in 1991. Finally, there was an explosion in the number of jobs in the services sector, which increased from 2,549 in 1971 to 13,285 in 1991. 14 A development model of this kind, in spite of its tremendous success, had its down side. Indeed, such a massive presence of non-local entrepreneurship was, at the same time, also an element of weakness. This is because the entire development model of the Sangro Valley depended on decisions that were made elsewhere, in the directional centres of large national and international groups. This fact exposed the area to the risk of a reduction in industrial employment in the case of a crisis, and also took the control of the development process out of the hands of local governments and communities.
15 The third phase, which was initiated at the beginning of the Nineties, is characterised by the stabilization of large enterprises, the arrival of new multinationals, the reinforcement of the SME system in the industrial sector and, also, the strengthening of the tertiary sector. This phase is also characterised by the end of the "Intervento Straordinario" and by the termination of aid provided by EU regional policies for the marginal areas (former Objective 1), because the Sangro Valley was no longer part of these areas. Therefore, new instruments for local development were created, in a bottom-up logic which was characterised by the self-determination and self-regulation of the territory through policies that pass as partnerships and governance. A good example of this new logic is the institution, during the second half of the Nineties, of a Normative Industrial District Economic development and international migration in the Sangro Valley, Abruzz...
Belgeo, 1-2 | 2013 (Carboni, 1996) and of a Territorial Employment Pact (Staniscia, 2002;Staniscia, 2003). In the mountainous part of the area, at the beginning of the Nineties, a natural park of national relevance (Parco Nazionale della Majella -Majella National Park) was instituted, which has a strong influence on the territory's human and economic development model, even if its main objective is the preservation of the natural environment. 16 During the Nineties, the local economy continues to grow: in the year 2001, the number of jobs in industry reaches 19,908, in commerce, 6,680, and in the services sector, 16,987. The large enterprises continue to produce without reducing jobs and, in some cases, even creating new employment. SMEs mostly operate as sub-suppliers of large enterprises but in the logic of a diversification of purchasers. The area, still linked to a "fordist" model of production, is therefore experimenting alternative paths of development.
17 During the Nineties the arrival of foreign capital in the area continues. In the year 2001, firms with non-Italian capital or only partly Italian capital, are the largest in the area. The number of jobs directly created by these enterprises is around 8,000, i.e. 40% of the total number of jobs in industry in the entire area (CRESA, 2001). To this figure, the number of jobs created by SME sub-suppliers, must also be added.  , 1999;Sonnino, 1995). 20 The transoceanic destinations were represented by Argentina, Canada, the United States and Australia; the main destinations in Europe were Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and France. These countries made agreements with the national government in order to encourage migratory flows.
during the period. During the decade 1961-1971, the total migratory balance (internal and external) exceeded -26,000 units. To this negative figure, a large group of people who, even maintaining their residence in the area, was, de facto, in a different municipality in Italy or abroad, must be added. Indeed, if in the year 1951 only 2% of the population resident in the area was absent because abroad, in the year 1961 this quota reached 6.7% with peaks rising to 15% in some mountain municipalities. 22 The situation changed from the beginning of the Seventies.
23 There were two main phenomena that caused the inversion in the trend: i. the economic crisis which struck the western world brought back many Italian workers who had emigrated previously and discouraged newcomers; ii. the national and local policies attracting large enterprises favoured the return of emigrants with the creation of new job opportunities.
• a small presence of foreign residents: 550 units, representing 0.4% of the total resident population; • a very high percentage (71.4%) of non-active population among foreigners, amongst which: students (26.4%), retired people (15.3%), housewives (14.7%), unemployed people looking for their first job (3.2%), other non-active people (11.8%); • a very high concentration of active foreign population in the group of manual workers.  Source: Istat (various years, c); author's own computation 28 This context seems to confirm the hypothesis of returning migration. Foreign citizens in 1981 seem to be elderly people who had emigrated and who had then returned to benefit from their retirement in Italy, their wives, and young couples who had emigrated and who had then returned with their children who had been born abroad. 29 The only exception to this rule seems to be represented by a small group of Japanese who arrived at the end of the Seventies following the institution of the Honda factory. This occurred during a time when Honda had to convert its production from merely assembling pieces of motorcycles to completely building motorcycles. The Japanese Honda managers, technicians and manual workers came to the area in order to pass on their know-how to the Italians involved in production. This is a very good example of human and technological direct transfer that followed the simple transfer of capital. 30 The spatial distribution of the foreign population in the area supports this hypothesis. The incidence of foreigners on the total population is particularly high in some mountain municipalities (precisely those which had experimented the highest rates of depopulation) and in some municipalities in the plains where the industrial firms were located (Fig 4). The concentration in this latter group of municipalities is particularly evident if we take into account the spatial distribution of the foreign population in the area (Fig. 5).  The Eighties registered an initial change in the migratory processes that took place in the area. The creation of new jobs in large enterprises was slowing down; new SMEs were developing, more willing to employ seasonal and irregular workers. Foreign presence begins to modify its own composition.
32 At the 1991 Census, the incidence of returning migration continued to be high. Among the 544 foreign citizens who were residents in the area, 23.7% were represented by citizens coming from Latin America, particularly from Argentina, and 19.3% was constituted by citizens coming from EFTA countries, particularly from Switzerland, traditional countries of long-standing, local emigration.
34 Density and spatial distribution remain substantially unvaried in comparison to the 1981 (Fig. 4 & 5). 35 The true novelty in migratory paths involving the Sangro Valley concerns the Nineties.
36 During the period 1993-2000, foreign presence in the area increases by a total of 774 units (+103%). The highest increases are registered in the largest and economically most dynamic municipalities and in the coastal municipalities, which are also those with the highest rates in the increase of total population. Increases are also registered in some mountain municipalities, which are not necessarily dynamic in an economic sense, but which are characterised by open and hospitable local communities and administrated by local authorities that encourage "repopulation" through policies to attract foreign citizens.
37 The Eastern-Europeans (+359% between 1993 and 2000) and the North-Africans (+148% in the same period) are the groups that present the highest growth rates. At the same time, a strong decrease is registered in the arrival of citizens from the EU (-2%), Latin America (-11%), and North America (-56%), i.e., those who had registered the highest presence until the beginning of the decade. 38 The calculation of presence (Fig. 4) and spatial distribution (Fig. 5) for the Nineties can also be usefully used.
39 Between 1993 and 2000, the incidence of foreign citizens grows in a group of piedmont and mountain municipalities on the left bank of the Sangro River and in a small group of hilly municipalities. This fact can be explained by two factors: in the case of the mountain municipalities, through policies of attraction and hospitality put into effect by the local communities and public authorities; in the case of the small hilly municipalities, the reason can be attributed to new residential opportunities in new urban settlements not far from the industrial sites. In the municipalities with a very dynamic economy, the number of foreigners is still high. The location quotient (Isard, 1960) has been taken into account in order to analyse the distribution of these communities throughout the area (Fig. 7). The quotient represents the ratio between the community proportion in the municipality and the community proportion in the entire area. Source: Istat (various years, d); author's own computation 42 Among the Eastern-European communities, the Albanian one is the most widely represented. From 1993 to 2000, it registered a remarkable increase, rising from 64 to 587 units, from 8.6% to 38.7% of the foreigners in the area. Its members are spread all over the coastal, hilly and piedmont territory and they prefer the most populated centres. The other three Eastern-European communities represent a much lower quota in comparison to the Albanians: Yugoslavians, 5.0%; Romanians, 4.3% and Macedonians, 3.7%. Although they prefer the large urban agglomerates, these communities, particularly the Macedonians, are also spread out in the mountain municipalities. The trend shown by Eastern-European communities must be attributed to the activities in which they are involved: traditional jobs as non-specialized workers in the construction industry and in the agricultural sector (male component), as assistants to old people and as housekeepers (female component). To these main activities, other ones have to be added: jobs as shepherds, in particular for the Macedonian group; jobs as technicians in local microenterprises, especially for the Romanian group. 43 The Moroccan group, composed mainly of male adults, prefers the largest municipalities. Their main activity is street trading. 44 The presence and behaviour of these five communities is not dissimilar to that of the same communities in other Southern Adriatic regions in Italy.
Economic development and international migration in the Sangro Valley, Abruzz...
Belgeo, 1-2 | 2013 45 However, this is not the case neither for the French, German and British communities nor for the Japanese one. Even if their presence is not remarkable in terms of quantity (the French community represents 2.76% of total foreigners, the German and British communities 2.37%, and the Japanese community 2.57%), it is important because it is the expression of the development model of the area represented by the presence of multinational firms. 46 In the case of these European Union citizens, in fact, to the traditional group of elderly people who are returning migrants, a new group has to be added: the youngest one, composed by highly qualified manpower working for the multinational companies.
47 Let us take the example of Honeywell, the United States giant. Two interesting phenomena can be observed in this company: the "rotational programmes" and the "mobility/diversity". The first provides for the recruitment of young foreign talents who usually spend a few years in the local plant and who, later, leave for new destinations in the same or in a new company. The second provides the presence in the local plant, not even necessarily for a long period, of foreign established managers, in order to favour cultural "contamination" and to create, in this way, added value for the company. To this "resident" and "semi-resident" component, another transitory and temporary group must be added, consisting in those technicians, businessmen and managers who frequently move from one place to another, passing through the Sangro Valley.
48 The case of the Japanese community follows on from the story that initiated at the end of the Seventies. The group is composed of 39 individuals who are all managers in the Honda factory and their family members. Thirty-five of these individuals reside in the largest and most populated municipality of the area, with the best services, 20 minutes from the firm by car. Generally, these people arrive directly from Japan, spend an average period of 3-4 years in the area and then return or move to another Honda firm.

Conclusion 49
The migratory model of the area is linked to two main factors: • the local economy: the presence of job opportunities both for non-specialized manpower and for managers and entrepreneurs; • the local community: the incentive policies put into effect by some municipalities and the capacity for hospitality that characterizes some mountain communities. 50 The first factor is particularly important in attracting citizens from developed countries (such as Japan). The second is particularly relevant in the reception of citizens from developing countries (such as Albania, Yugoslavia, Morocco) who, upon their arrival on the Adriatic coasts, find a "refuge" in this valley. 51 A productive track for new investigations could be international temporary mobility, both of the local people who move abroad and of the foreigners who move to the Sangro Valley. It could be useful to complete the picture of an area which combines, in such a small territory, very diverse migratory paths due to very different objective factors and subjective motivations.

4.
As far as human mobility is concerned, the data used come from several sources. For the period 1961-1981, at municipal level, official data on foreign presence are not available in Italy. The existing data concern entry and exit movements, registry inscriptions and cancellations for motives of transfer of residence to/from a municipality from/to abroad.
However, these movements do not indicate neither the country of provenance of the subjects nor their nationality. Therefore, this data are useful to verify human exchanges in the area of study with the rest of the world, i.e. the foreign migratory balance, evaluated on a quantitative basis.
Furthermore, the data do not measure the qualitative aspect. In order to fill this gap, a subjective method has been used here: the "Testimoni Privilegiati" ("Key-persons") (Fabbris, 1989). In particular, the "Testimoni Antropologico Culturali" ("Anthropological-Cultural key persons") have been used. These are subjects who, due to their personal and professional history, have been involved in the vicissitudes of a small territory, such as a municipality. They are mayors, public employees, medical doctors, teachers, all those who, because of their roles in local society, have had direct access to the "contingent", or to the "transient" and who, because of their professional and personal capacity, have preserved the memory of those events. They can, therefore, subjectively compensate for the lack of objective data. Five individuals have been interviewed who, at the time of the events referred to, were the following: two mayors of municipalities, a registry employee, a trade union representative and a manager in a multinational company.
Economic development and international migration in the Sangro Valley, Abruzz...

Belgeo, 1-2 | 2013
For the period 1981-1991, the Population Census data were used. The data from 1981 register foreign residents at a municipal level and their profession. The 1991 data register, at a municipal level, foreign residents based on the macro-area of provenance. These data were analysed and thereafter commented upon by the "Testimoni Antropologico Culturali" cited above.
For the last decade, the Nineties, the 2001 Census data will be soon available. At the present moment, these data have not yet been published by ISTAT (National Institute of Statistics). In order to compensate for this missing information, data from the municipal registries have been used, the most up-to-date referring to 31/12/2000. These data are obviously not automatically comparable with those corresponding to the previous decade, having been obtained from a different source. However, referring to the same phenomenon -foreign residents in the municipalities of the area -where the strong element is precisely that of residence, indicating a certain stability within time, certain qualitative, diachronic considerations are possible. This analysis has been supplemented with qualitative information provided by the present mayors and registry employees of the main municipalities of the area.

5.
In this paragraph the theme of the migratory path that characterised Southern Italy, as a whole, in the period taken into consideration, will not be treated. For a reconstruction of that path, interesting theses are contained in Montanari and Cortese (1993)

ABSTRACTS
The Sangro Valley, the economy of which was characterised mostly by the agricultural sector until the beginning of the 1970s, experienced an industrial development from the end of that decade. It was, an "exogenous development", with a relevant presence of external enterprises within which the level of internationalisation was very high. Industrial development and the process of productive internationalisation were followed by an intense internal migratory flow and a less intense international migratory flow. The international migratory flow can be divided into two main components: (i) a large group of unskilled manpower, composed of unspecialised manual workers, usually young; (ii) a small group of highly-skilled international employees, managers and engineers. The aim of this study is to investigate the phenomenon of international migratory flows, to underline a positive correlation between the mobility of financial capital and the mobility of human capital.