Studying Insularity Through Business Networks: The Isle of Procida in Nineteenth-century South of Italy

This paper examines the economic effects of insularity through a case study of the isle of Procida (southern Italy) in the nineteenth century. Using firm-level microdata and a social network analysis, the study reconstructs the island’s business networks before and after national unification. The findings show that Procida’s geographic isolation fostered resilient, cooperative institutions—such as mutual insurance and early cooperative banks—which mitigated external shocks and reduced the dependency on Naples, the mainland's regional capital. Instead of a structural handicap, insularity served as a catalyst for institutional innovation and community-based economic strategies. The results provide new insights into the adaptive potential of peripheral economies and their relevance for regional development policy.