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. 2021 Mar;61(2):407-441.
doi: 10.1111/jors.12510. Epub 2020 Dec 21.

The geography of COVID-19 and the structure of local economies: The case of Italy

Andrea Ascani  1 , Alessandra Faggian  1 , Sandro Montresor  1
Affiliations

The geography of COVID-19 and the structure of local economies: The case of Italy

Andrea Ascani et al. J Reg Sci. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the subnational spread of COVID-19 in Italy using an economic geography perspective. The striking spatial unevenness of COVID-19 suggests that the infection has hit economic core locations harder, and this raises questions about whether, and how, the subnational geography of the disease is connected to the economic base of localities. We provide some first evidence consistent with the possibility that the local specialization in geographically concentrated economic activities acts as a vehicle of disease transmission. This could generate a core-periphery pattern in the spatiality of COVID-19, which might follow the lines of the local economic landscape and the tradability of its outputs.

Keywords: COVID‐19; geographical concentration; local economic structure; tradability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Top‐10 countries by total COVID‐19 tests performed as of June 15, 2020
Figure 2
Figure 2
Provincial share of COVID‐19 infections
Figure 3
Figure 3
Spatial concentration of employment in different industries
Figure 4
Figure 4
Geography of COVID‐19 and provincial economic base [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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