This work aims to shed light on the textile-clothing district of Carpi seen from an economic-industrial perspective.
This district has always been one of the most investigated cases in Italian and foreign literature,
that aimed at investigating the causes of the success of these particular productive agglomerations of Small
and Medium Business (SMB). Since the years of the district successes in the 1970’s-80’s, many things have
obviously changed. In the second and third paragraphs, the paper analyzes the case study of Carpi from a
structural point of view. Subsequently, in the fourth paragraph, it focuses on the new industrial policy, which
should be primarily centered on “investments in knowledge” (human capital, research and development). In
the fifth final paragraph, some policy responses to the present challenges are suggested.
