There is a correlation between GDP per capita in different Italian regions and some structural indicators, such as – just to take an example – the ease of doing business index compiled by the World Bank: the values for the poorer regions are generally lower than those of richer regions.
At the same time, the fact that Italy – and other countries – diverged further from the euro area average during the crisis highlights two important points. First, that structurally weaker countries are more vulnerable to economic slowdowns than others; and second, that our Monetary Union remains incomplete in some key respects.