An Industrial District Facing the Challenges of Globalization: Prato Today

Industrial districts and clusters of small- and medium-sized enterprises specializing in manufacture are an important feature of the Italian economy (Becattini, G. & Coltorti, F. (2006) Areas of large enterprise and industrial districts in the development of post-war Italy. A preliminary survey, European Planning Studies, 14(8), pp. 1105–1138). The textile district of Prato is an exemplary case of the industrial district model (Becattini, G. (2001) The Caterpillar and the Butterfly. An Exemplary Case of Development in the Italy of the Industrial Districts (Felice Le Monnier: Firenze)), contributing 25% of the Italian exports of woollen products. The paper analyses the recent transformations of Prato facing the winds of globalization and in particular the dual challenge of global pressure from outside the district (due to competition from new industrialising countries) and from inside it (due to an ethnic economy formed by Chinese immigrants). The paper concludes with some recommendations for the revitalization of local development, and sketches a possible course for the Prato district.