Institutions locales et banques dans la formation et le d_veloppement des districts industriels en Italie

This paper argues that the historical origins and formation of small firms and decentralized industrial systems in some Italian regions depend on the original institutional framework of local economies. In the analysis on industrial districts this historical perspective is often relegated to a short introduction and the question of continuity or break-through character of economic processes is put off in favor of the hypothesis of spontaneous generation. The paper evaluates the role of local capital markets and of government support in the successful development of small business and flexible organizations.