The failure of regional development is a well documented fact in explaining the persistence of disparities in the Italian regions. In spite of the length of public (ordinary and extraordinary) intervention, the Mezzogiorno is still lagging behind. Moreover, the priority in the European regional planning for the period 2000-2006 is still to fill the gap in terms of infrastructures and human capital. In this context, the present work is aimed to provide a useful empirical background for the evaluation of old and new development policies.