Full Professor in Economics Economic Policy) at the Faculty of Economics of Insubria University (Varese, Italy) till 2016. Previously Full Professor in Regional Economics at the University of Pavia and in Economic Policy at the University of Bari. 

   Founder and Director of CRIEL (Centre of Research on the Internationalisation of Local Economies) and Founder and Coordinator of the European Doctorate on “Economics of Production and Development” at the Insubria University till 2018.

   Founder and Director of the Department of Economics at the University of Insubria (2008-2011).

Founder and Coordinator of the International Master on “Local Economic Development” at the University of Insubria (2003-2007). 

   President of AENL (Association of Latin Languages Economists) since 2005.

   President of the AISRe (Italian Section of Regional Science Association) (2001-2004).

   Born in Recanati (MC) the 25th February 1946.

   Graduate in Economics at the Faculty of Ancona (University of Urbino) in the Academic Year 1968-69.

   Postgraduate studies in Economics at the ISTAO in Ancona and at the University of Sussex (UK).

   Associate Professor at the University of Pavia since 1983 and lecturer since the Academic Year 1974-75. 

   Visiting Professor at the Universities of Grenoble (1992-93, 2003-2004 and 2009-2010) and Toulouse (1991-92).

Visiting Fellow at Sussex University and at Saint John’s College in Cambridge.

   Member of several Ph.D. Commissions at the University of Sussex (UK), Grenoble (F), Toulouse, Neuchatel (CH), Ecole des Mines in Paris (F), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Réunion, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Yaoundé (Camerun).

  Member of the “Conseil de l’Ecole Doctorale de Sciences Economiques” at the Université Pierre Mendès France - Grenoble II (2010-2012).

   Member of the Editorial Board of the journals "Regional Studies" and "Entrepreneurship and Regional Development"; member of the Scientific Committee of several Italian journals .

Member of the  Scientific Committee of the “Universitas” Programme organized by ILO and Unops.

   Member of the  Scientific Committee of ACIDI (Agence de Coopération Internationale et de Développement Interrégional) in Paris.

   Central Coordinator of the Interuniversities Project of continuous training on "Endogenous Skills Anticipating" within the framework of the ADAPT/European Social Fund Programme (with the participation of the Universities of Pavia, Grenoble, Barcelona, Porto, Autonomous University in Madrid and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation) carried out in 1996-98.

Co-coordinator of the Asia Link project "Curriculum development and human resource development for training municipal public servants on economic management in market-oriented economy of Vietnam" organized by the National Economics University (Hanoi), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and University of Insubria (2003-2005).

   Italian coordinator of the Research Project on “SME policy and the regional dimension of innovation (SMEPOL)” within the framework of the TSER/CE DG XII Programme (1997-99).

Central Coordinator of the Project "LPS-Insubria. Cooperation for the Competitiveness of Local Productive Systems in insubric area", IV Interreg Programme  Italy - Svitzerland (2007-2013)

   Co-coordinator of the “Intecofin” and “Skillmatching”, Projects, V Interreg Programme Italy - Svitzerland (2014-2020).

   Scientific Coordinator of the research project on “Medium-sized enterprises in Europe”, promoted by R&S, Confindustria and Unioncamere (2009-2012).

Member of the "Experts Panel" for the OECD Conference on "Local Development and 

Structural Change" (Paris, may 1993).

   “Key speaker” at the  Conference - XII Congreso CIDEU (Centro Iberoamericano de Desarrollo Estratégico Urbano) on “Strategic Governance and Endogenous Development” -    Gestion estrategica y Desarollo Endogeno: Claves de la Gobernabilidad Urbana”, Rio de Janeiro, april 2004.

   “Invited Speaker” at the Conference on “Small and Medium Enterprises (SME): Clusters and Industrial Districts from a Global Perspective”, Asian Development Bank Assembly, Jeju (South Korea), May 2004.

  Co-coordinator (with Allen J. Scott) of the workshop “The Regional Question in Economic Development: Local-Global Interactions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries”, organized at the Bellagio Conference and Study Center, Rockefeller Foundation, 30th august – 5th september, 2005.

  “Key speaker” at the launching seminars of cooperation programme Europe-Latin America URB-AL III (San José, Costa Rica, may 2009) and INVEST-IV (São Paulo, Brazil, juin 2009).

Co-coordinator of Conferences and seminars of the group working group on “A New Industrial Strategy in Europe”  (Rome, 17th april 2018, EESC, Bruxelles, 4th december 2019, Web Forum, 8th july 2020, CNEL Rome, 4th February 2021, Web Forum, 3rd july 2024).

   Has carried out researches for EC DG  V, DG XII and DG XXIII. Research missions with World Bank, ILO and FAO.

 Coordinator of several other international research projects and training courses (especially with ITC/ILO and Unops).

     Outcome of his researches presented in several conferences and seminars in Italy and abroad.

***Leading pubblications:

Books:

- Economia  e politica economica in Italia. Lo sviluppo economico italiano dal 1945 ad oggi, Franco Angeli, Milano, 2014

- I Maestri dello sviluppo economico (ed.), Franco Angeli, Milano, 2016

- Development on the ground: clusters, networks and regions in emerging economies (ed. with A.J. Scott), Routledge, London and New York, 2007; paperback edition, 2011

- Medium-Sized Enterprises in Europe, (ed.), Confindustria, R&S and Unioncamere, Milano, 2013 (ISSN 2038-5897) (pp.299)

- Impresa e territorio (ed.), Il Mulino, Bologna, 2003

- Sistemi produttivi locali in Lombardia (ed.), Franco Angeli, Milano, 2011

- Cooperazione transfrontaliera e reti tra imprese. Innovazione e sviluppo nell’Insubria (ed. with  F. Bednarz and F. Losa), Franco Angeli, Milano, 2011

- Economia del territorio, Etas, Milano, 1992

- Endogenous Development and Southern Europe (ed.), Avebury, Aldershot (UK), 1992

- Modelli locali di sviluppo, Franco Angeli, Milano, 1991

- Formazione di nuove imprese: un'analisi comparata a livello internazionale (ed.), Franco Angeli, Milano, 1994

- Industrializzazione diffusa in Lombardia, I.Re.R. - Franco Angeli, Milano, 1983 (2^ edition: Iuculano Editore, Pavia, 1995) 

- Ristrutturazione industriale e territorio (ed.), Franco Angeli, Milano, 1978

- Le politiche di sviluppo locale, Franco Angeli, Milano, 1988 (with C. Antonelli, R. Cappellin, R. Jannaccone Pazzi)

- I sistemi produttivi locali (ed., with R. Mazzoni), Franco Angeli, Milano, 1994 

- Organisation of production and  territory: local models of development (ed., with A. Vazquez Barquero), Iuculano Editore, Pavia, 1994

- Desarollo Local en Europa (with A. Vazquez Barquero), Economistas Libros, Madrid, 1995

- Gran Empresa y Desarollo Economico (with J.P. Gilly and A. Vazquez Barquero), Editorial Sintesis, Madrid, 1997

- "Structure productive et competitivité dans l’industrie de la chaussure en Italie" (with Brusco S., Solinas G. and Villa P.), Centre d’Etudes de l’Emploi, Paris, 1988

- Il Piano strategico dell’area varesina: lo studio di fattibilità (ed., with Carlo Lissoni), Comune di Varese-Università dell’Insubria-Centro Studi P.I.M., Varese, 2000

Articles and chapters in collective books :

- Economic Development, organisation of production and territory, Revue d’Economie Industrielle, n. 64, II trimestre 1993

- New Firm Formation and Regional Development: the Italian case, Regional Studies, vol. 28, n. 4, July 1994

- The industrial district of Lecco: innovation and transformation processes, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, vol. 6, n. 4, 1994

- Industrial Districts: Structure and Transformation, Economic Notes, n. 1, 1989

- Desarollo rural e industrializacion difusa: aprendiendo de la experiencia italiana, Politicas Agricolas, numero especial, 1998, pp. 39-69

- Sviluppo locale: modelli teorici e comparazioni internazionali, Meridiana, n. 34-35, 1999 

- SMEs, innovation trajectories and policies: the cases of Lombardy and Apulia (ed.), SMEPOL Report no. 1, TSER Programme, EC-DG XII, Dipartimento di Economia Politica e Metodi Quantitativi, Università di Pavia, Juin 1999

- SME policy and the regional dimension of innovation: the Italian case, SMEPOL Research, TSER Programme, EC-DG XII, Dipartimento di Economia Politica e Metodi Quantitativi, Università di Pavia, Juin 1999

- Innovation Policies for SMEs in Europe: towards and Interactive Model? (con B. Musyck), Regional Studies, vol. 35. N. 9, December 2001 

- Local Development in Europe: Theoretical Models and International Comparisons, European Urban and Regional Studies, vol. 9, n.3, pp. 225-239, 2002 

- Innovation policies for SMEs: an Overview of policy instruments (con B. Musyck), in B.T. Asheim, A. Isaksen, G. Nauwelaers, F. Todtling (eds.), Regional Innovation Policy for Small-Medium Enterprises, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham (UK) and Northampton (MA-USA), 2003

- La restructuration des systèmes productifs locaux et des districts industriels en Italie, in L. Bensahel et P. Marchand (eds.), Les régions de Russie à l’épreuve des théories et pratiques économiques, L’Harmattan, Paris, 2005

- Strategie di sviluppo economico: una rilettura critica a partire dai pionieri dello sviluppo (con C. Courlet), Economia Marche. Review of Regional Studies, XXVII, n. 2, 2008, pp. 65-92

- Local Development, in International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, edited by Rob Kitchin and Nigel Thrift, Elsevier, Oxford, 2009 (volume 6, pp. 225-232)

- Industrial districts in Europe, in G. Becattini, M. Bellandi, L. De Propris(eds.), A Handbook of Industrial districts, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK - Northampton, MA, USA, 2009 (pp. 488-500)

Regional and Local Development, SR Scienze Regionali – Italian Journal of Regional Science, vol. 8, n. 3, 2009, pp. 35-58

- Medium-Sized Enterprises in Europe (with Fulvio Coltorti), Review of Economic Conditions in Italy, no. 1, 2011, pp. 171-202

- Albert Hirschman: la vita e il lascito di un Maestro, Economia&Lavoro,  XLVII, no. 1, 2013, pp. 75-86

- Sviluppo territoriale e distretti industriali: traiettorie evolutive e trasformazioni alla luce dei risultati dell’ultimo censimento, in Bellandi M. e Caloffi A (a cura di), I nuovi distretti industriali. Rapporto di Artimino sullo sviluppo locale 2012-2013, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2014, pp.33-59 

- La “gouvernance” du développement local dans les Langhe, in Silem A., Bensahel-Perrin L., Fontanel J., Pecqueur B. (eds.), L’économie territorial en questions, L’Harmattan, Paris, 2014, pp. 23-36

- Virtuous and Vicious Circles: Lessons for Current European Policies from Italian Post-War Development, European Journal of Comparative Economics, vol. 14, no. 1, 2017, pp. 39-58

- Alternative Economic Policies in Europe: An Introduction (with S. Holland), European Journal of Comparative Economics, vol. 14,  no. 1, 2017, pp. 3-12

- Il contributo di Secchi agli studi urbani e regionali, in Renzoni C., Tosi M.C. (eds.), Bernardo Secchi. Libri e piani, Officina Edizioni, Roma, 2017

- Territorio, economia e società all’epoca della crisi: alcune questioni interpretative e di metodo, Territorio, vol. 81, 2017, pp. 71-75

- Territorial Development and Metropolitan Areas: Transformations in the Last Decade, in Viganò P. et al. (eds.), The Horizontal Metropolis between Urbanism and Urbanization, Spinger, Heidelberg (Germany), 2018, pp. 283-303

- Territorial socioeconomic restructuring: local actors’ involvement for a shared vision and planning: A bias for hope, in Mantziaras P, Viganò P. (eds.), Urbanisme de l’espoir, MetisPresses, Genève, 2018

- Le trasformazioni economiche e sociali: il contributo di Giorgio Fuà all’analisi economica, Il pensiero economico italiano, XXVI, 2018, n. 1

- I contributi di Giacomo Becattini fra distretti industriali e sviluppo economico, in Bellandi M., Biagi B, Faggian A., Marrocu E., Usai S. (a cura di), Percorsi di sviluppo regionale oltre la crisi, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2018

- Territorial obstinacy (with Pinto H. and Reis J.), Regional Science. Policy and Practice, vol 11, 2019

- Gli insegnamenti di Hirschman sullo sviluppo territoriale, in Bianchetti C. (ed.), Territorio e produzione, Quodlibet, Macerata, 2019, pp. 144-149

- A New European Industrial Strategy and the European Recovery Program after the Covid-19 Crisis (con R. Cappellin, E. Ciciotti, E. Marelli), Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, CXXVIII, n. 3, july-sept. 2020

- Local Economic Development,  in Kobayashi, A. (ed.), International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 2nd edition. vol. 8, Elsevier, pp. 199–206.https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102295-5.10102-7

- Industrial districts in Europe: Lessons for Industrial Hubs and Industrialization, in Oqubay A., Lin J.Y. (eds.), Industrial Hubs and Economic Development, The Oxford Handbook, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 162-189

- Le Marche e il modello NEC, in Amatori F., Giulianelli R., Martellini A. (eds.), Le Marche 1970-2020, FrancoAngeli; Milano, 2020

- Investment, Employment and Aggregate Demand: The Needs for Industrial and Regional Policies in Europe, Symphonya, Emerging Issues in Management, no. 1, 2021, pp. 40-49

NGEU e PNRR: opportunità per una politica industriale di sviluppo in Europa, Economia & Lavoro, LVIII, no. 3, 2024, pp. 25-40