Economic and social development generated by innovative startups: does heterogeneity persist across Italian macro-regions?

The aim of the present paper is to investigate if heterogeneity - meant in terms of economic and social development generated by innovative startups - persists or not across the three Italian macro-regions (north, centre, and south of Italy). According to law number (L. n.) 221/2012, Italian innovative startups are characterized by three parameters: (A) investments in R&D activities; (B) hiring experienced researchers; (C) holding a patent. By testing the effect that these parameters can exert in terms of economic and social development, heterogeneity or homogeneity between northern, central, and southern Italian macro-regions is disclosed. Methodologically, statistical elaborations leverage an unbalanced panel of 11,052 Italian innovative startups (data are retrieved from the official website of Italian Chambers of Commerce at) and are carried out through the estimation of a Stochastic Frontier Analysis - SFA without a time variable stochastic efficiency term. Achieved results disclose that heterogeneity persists across Italian macro-regions in reference to factors generating an economic and social impact; however, homogeneity exists in reference to causes of gaps from the efficiency frontier. In particular, results about northern macro-region reveal specific dynamics that - if properly managed - can increase the economic and social impact of innovative startups.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the heterogeneity in terms of economic and social development generated by innovative startups across three macro-regions in Italy. It tests the impact of three parameters - investments in R&D activities, hiring experienced researchers, and holding a patent - on economic and social development, and reveals the heterogeneity or homogeneity between northern, central, and southern Italian macro-regions. Statistical analysis using an unbalanced panel of 11,052 Italian innovative startups shows that heterogeneity persists in terms of factors generating economic and social impact, but homogeneity exists in terms of causes of gaps from the efficiency frontier. Specifically, results for the northern macro-region indicate specific dynamics that can enhance the economic and social impact of innovative startups if managed properly.