Economies of Scale and Structural Settings as Key Determinants for Economic Sustainability in the Agricultural Sector: A Comparative Analysis between Italy and Germany

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to Investigate the role of Economies of Scale in Agriculture, through a comparative analysis between Italy and Germany. Agriculture is a fascinating field to be studied: it still constitutes the basis for the economic development and competitiveness of many countries and, although being depicted as a relatively stable sector, structural changes and organizational innovations still have a great magnitude of action. We will thus investigate the impact of scale on the functioning of agricultural holdings, their structural change along time and the potential effects of different control variables on the economic-structural features of the agricultural sector. We will introduce the concepts of Network Economies of Scale and Multifunctionality, through which we will interpret the logics of pure Economies of Scale in a broader perspective, entailing organizational settings and networking effects.