23rd Annual STOREP Conference: Napoli, 25-27 June 2026
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF DEINDUSTRIALISATION
Structural change, globalisation, and labour productivity
23rd Annual STOREP Conference, June 25-27, 2026
Università di Napoli Federico II, Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Corso Umberto I, 40 – Napoli
Background and Rationale
Over the past decades, the share of output and employment generated by manufacturing has declined, especially in the most capitalistically advanced countries. This shift towards service-based sectors has been attributed to several factors. Some of these relate to changes in consumption habits as per capita income levels rise. Others emphasise the different dynamics of productivity between manufacturing and services. A third perspective involves foreign trade and international capital flows, viewing the phenomenon either as an efficient form of productivity specialisation driven by comparative advantages or as a harmful consequence of the unchecked tendency of more mature economies to invest in and purchase manufactured goods from low-labour-cost countries. All these explanations centre, in one way or another, on the complex interaction between sectoral change, technological innovation, income distribution, demand patterns, and the ultimate determinants of the growth process. The reasons behind the increasing share held by the financial sector (and more broadly, the so-called FIRE—financial, insurance, and real estate—sector) merit separate mention, as the peculiarities of this sector highlight a range of explanations closely linked to the role of money and credit in the economy and the process of rent creation.
The overall perspective emerging from these analyses is that deindustrialisation is not a negative development but a sign of a more advanced stage of economic progress. However, more recently, some second thoughts have arisen, and the argument that a robust manufacturing sector is vital for sustained long-term growth is gaining popularity again.
The 23rd STOREP conference aims mainly to encourage discussion on this issue, promoting research into why manufacturing sectors shrink compared to service sectors and how this shift affects the economy.
The history of economic thought is essential for tackling this complex problem. The analysis developed by classical economists and their predecessors was sector-specific in its scope. Their investigation into the forces that shaped the division of labour is embodied in the study of the relationships between agriculture and industry.
The qualitative differences between products were considered important. Classical theory distinguishes between basic and non-basic goods, and related to this, between wage goods and other goods. The distinction between productive and unproductive labour is another area that calls into question the different roles of the goods produced. The significance of the history of economic thought becomes even more apparent when referring to the international division of labour. Classical political economy explicitly addresses a wide range of problems stemming from productive specialisation, many of which were later overshadowed (think, for example, of the role of strategic sectors and the danger that economic dependence could translate into forms of political dependence). Similar considerations can also be applied to the growing weight of rent-seeking sectors, given the extent of the classical theory of rent.
The idea that the expansion of manufacturing and economic progress were one and the same was in full swing in the post-Second World War period, and formed the core of development economics. The emphasis on the need for public intervention to promote industrialisation grew stronger, while the theme was enriched, though somewhat problematically, by Keynesian insights. Keynesian economics — especially in its long-term implications — stands alongside classical political economy as one of the main fields to which the history of economic thought can make a vital contribution to understanding the phenomenon.
Submissions
The 23rd STOREP Annual Conference aims to foster a debate on all the issues related to “Causes and Consequences of Deindustrialization. Structural Change, Globalisation, and Labour Productivity”, like income distribution, relative prices, and the determination of activity and employment levels both in the short and long run. The analysis can be approached from various perspectives (theoretical, applied, historical), as long as it focuses on the sectoral structure of the economy and is framed within a perspective that highlights the significance of the history of economic thought. Researchers engaged with these issues within economic policy are particularly encouraged, as the significance of public interventions to support manufacturing is increasingly acknowledged in many key aspects of the State’s involvement in a private market economy.
Possible focuses of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Productivity metrics in the manufacturing and services sectors
- Services as intermediates
- Long-run shifts in the distribution of jobs across sectors and countries
- The pace of sectoral technological change and relative prices
- Sectoral composition and workers’ bargaining power
- Income levels and consumption bundles
- Technological spillovers arising from manufacturing industries
- Intangible assets and capital accumulation
- Patterns of trade specialisation and sectoral composition
- The weight of services in international trade
- Size and role of the financial sector
- Real estate markets and financial stability
- Post-Keynesian multisectoral growth models
- Reshoring and import substitution policies
- Friendshoring supply chains
- Industrial policies
- Environmental economics
Paper proposals are welcome in all fields adopting historical and/or theoretical approaches from multiple perspectives (Marxian, Post Keynesian, Neo-Ricardian, Neo Schumpeterian, Institutional, Austrian economics, Stock-flow consistent and agent-based modeling, input-output analysis). Empirical approaches (both quantitative and qualitative) are considered, provided that they are appropriately framed in a historical or theoretical perspective.
STOREP invites proposals for special sessions organized in collaboration with other scientific associations, NGOs, and policy-making institutions. As in the past, the 23rd STOREP Conference will jointly organize initiatives and special sessions with the Institute for New Economic Thinking, the “Young Scholars Initiative”, and with students and researchers of the international network Rethinking Economics.
Proposals, registration, and special issues
Abstract and session proposals must be uploaded on the submission website of the conference – i.e. via the web-based platform “Conference maker”. To submit, please create an account by providing basic contact information and selecting a user ID and password. If you have previously registered for a conference through Conference Maker, you can login with your existing user ID and password. Detailed instructions can be found here. Submitters must add any co-authors after the proposal is submitted, by clicking on “Add/modify authors”.
- Abstract proposals(including keywords, JEL codes, and affiliation) must not exceed 400 words
- Session proposals should include the abstract of all three/four scheduled papers
Registration: All participants are required to become STOREP members or renew their membership. Detailed instructions can be found here.
The Review of Political Economy (ROPE) will consider selected papers presented at the STOREP Conference for publication. Participants are required to submit their papers to ROPE within six months after the Conference. Manuscripts submitted through this procedure will undergo the standard peer review process. STOREP is also pleased to announce that several academic journals have expressed interest in publishing Conference papers.
“Host/Guest Discipline”: Law
Since 2023, STOREP has invited scholars from a ‘guest discipline’—a neighboring field of study—to explore its historical relationship with economics. These discussions include its current impact on economics and its potential contribution to the development of a new transdisciplinary behavioral science in the future.
In 2026, the STOREP conference hosts Law.
From the early contributions of classical political economy, the relationship between economics and law has been foundational to understanding the institutional framework within which production, exchange, and distribution take place. The classical economists—from Adam Smith’s analysis of justice as a prerequisite for market functioning to David Ricardo’s investigations into the Corn Laws—recognized that legal structures shape economic outcomes and that economic analysis must account for the juridical context of property rights, contracts, and trade regulations. The historical school of economics, particularly in its German tradition, further emphasized the embeddedness of economic relations within legal and institutional systems. In the twentieth century, the debate over planning versus markets, the rise of institutional economics, and the development of law and economics as a field have all reinforced the interdependence of these disciplines. The international dimension has proven especially significant: from debates on colonial trade regimes and the legal architecture of imperialism to contemporary discussions on international trade law, investment treaties, intellectual property rights, and the regulation of global value chains. Understanding how legal frameworks mediate processes of deindustrialization, trade specialization, and capital flows—and how they can either constrain or enable industrial policy—requires integrating economic analysis with insights from legal scholarship, particularly in areas such as competition law, labor law, and international economic law.
STOREP 2026 warmly welcomes abstract and session proposals from all areas of Law.
Important dates
March 16, 2026: Deadline for abstracts and sessions submission
April 13, 2026: Notification of abstract and session acceptance or rejection
May 11, 2026: Deadline for early registration
May 25, 2025: Deadline for submitting full papers and for becoming Members
June 24, 2025: YSI pre-conference
June 25-27, 2025: 23rd STOREP Annual Conference
Important dates for young scholars: Scholarships and Awards (details below)
March 20, 2026: Deadline for submission of Curriculum Vitae and an extended abstract
April 6, 2026: Deadline for submitting the final papers for Scholarships
April 30, 2026: Results of the evaluation process
December 31, 2026: Deadline for submitting articles for Young STOREP Awards
Young Scholars Awards
(1) STOREP provides two Awards of 1000€ each (so as to make it possible to reward both history-of-economic-thought articles and more policy-oriented papers) for the best articles presented at the Annual Conference by young scholars under 40 years of age. Applications, including CV and the final version of the papers, must be sent to segretario@storep.org by December 31, 2026. Only papers co-authored by a maximum of two researchers, both meeting the eligibility criteria for ‘Young’ scholars, are eligible for the Award. Previous award winners from any of the three preceding rounds are not eligible to apply. Papers must not have been previously published or under review in a scholarly journal at the time of the conference.
(2) Scholarships for young scholars (under 40 years of age, non-tenured). In order to be eligible, the applicant is required to send to segretario@storep.org a Curriculum Vitae and an extended abstract (2,000 words ca.) on any topic relevant to the history of political economy, by March 20, 2026. The final version of the papers must be uploaded and sent to segretario@storep.org within April 6, 2026. Applicants will be notified of the evaluation process no later than April 30, 2026. Winners will be awarded free STOREP Conference registration, including the association’s annual membership fee and, if possible, a lump-sum contribution towards travel and accommodation expenses.
Committees and Partners
Organizing Committee
Angela Ambrosino (STOREP Secretary, Università di Torino)
Aldo Barba (Università di Napoli)
Mario Cedrini (Università di Torino)
Valerio Filoso (Università di Napoli)
Erasmo Papagni (Università di Napoli)
Riccardo Zolea (Università di Napoli)
Scientific Committee
Angela Ambrosino (STOREP Secretary, Università di Torino)
Aldo Barba (Università di Napoli)
Mario Cedrini (Università di Torino)
Valerio Filoso (Università di Napoli)
Saverio Fratini (STOREP President, Università Roma Tre)
Erasmo Papagni (Università di Napoli)
Riccardo Zolea (Università di Napoli)
Institutional Partners
Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Università di Napoli “Federico II”
Pictures by Mario Cedrini, licensed under CC BY 4.0