Being dependent economically, it is not to be able to live and fulfill oneself without the generally interested assistance from a richer power. Now, such is our all the more unhealthy situation as it creates frustrations, which grow in so far as the subjection increases, to many Corsicans. Thus, it is advisable to escape this fate.


An evil that extends

The signs of economic dependence are many. First of all, it appears when we consider Corsica's products and capital exchanges with the outside. In its connections with the rest of the world, indeed, we notice that Corsica imports many products but exports very little. Corsica's foreign trade, the goods stream entering and going out from the Island, is difficult to grasp because statistics and regional accounts are not available, thus not allowing to know the importance of the in and out exchanges with France and with foreign countries (imports and exports) in a synthetic and regular manner.

The balance of trade, when we succeed in calculating it, namely the amount of imports coming from France and from the rest of the world less exports, shows an amply overdrawn balance, which besides does not stop degrading on the long term, in spite of a slight recent improvement. For example: in 1982, the imports were 176 million francs, and reached 436 million francs in 1992, that is a progress of about 250 % in ten years. We import the main part of our consumption: not only petroleum products and industrial goods, but foodstuffs too. On the other hand, the main part of imports consisting of wine, citrus fruit, and wood, represents only approximately 15 % of the mass of the imports.

The dependence originates within the productive device of the Island. Our 22000 very small firms (TPE) evolve on a sick local market, which does not allow them to lower their costs of sales, sell more, and so compete with foreign firms. Unable to exercise a price competition, they give up the mass production and for the most of them settle for market opportunities situated between craft and service production with a weak added value, where we find bars or small businesses in a jumble. Moreover, because the market remains too narrow, companies practise the "multiple activities", which leads to a weak specialization: we sell all that we can, to whom we can, always in small quantities. From then on, our companies are excluded from the outside markets of standard products where the competition is either by price or by innovation.

Finally, when we consider the structure of the Corsican economy, we are struck by the relative weight of the public sector : State administrations and local governments; almost a third of the working population is working for them; about 30 % of the wealth production depends on it, against 17 % of the French average. Last point concerning the Corsican economic peculiarities: we notice that the industry (8 % of the GDP) weighs less than tourism (9 % of the same GDP) in the process of wealth creation. Then, let us try and explain these peculiarities.


The roots of the dependence

The island economic mechanism is driven by the final demand and not by the original and competitive offer resulting from our companies. From then on, all the spending made by the Corsican population or by tourists, benefits certainly the local storekeepers a bit, but increases especially the turnover of companies producing the goods acquired by these consumers, as regards a 4X4 Toyota or a pack of Danone yoghourts. Now, these firms are not set up in Corsica, so the Island's TPE takes hardly any advantage of any beneficial effects resulting from the consumption increase. Certain local companies risk even to disappear like these clothes shops in Aiacciu or Bastia during the sales period, because the consumers prefer to make their purchases in Marseille or Nice. How to get out of this vicious circle?


Remedies

Escaping the disastrous effects of this poor economy supposes that the productive private sector strengthens and becomes the driving force of the development. For that purpose, in this global capitalist system, which imposed itself for better or worst, it is necessary that a number of local firms enter the globalization move, where it is advisable to acquire strong comparative advantages if we want to be up to it.

« It is impossible; our economic fabric consists only of small firms », might you say ? Certainly, but these are not lacking of assets. Smallness is never an insurmountable handicap. Some of them can grow and become medium-sized companies, which employ several hundreds of persons and aim at vast markets, where they try hard to occupy a profitable niche. The same strategy supposes that the political powers have a well asserted economic policy and support the growth of a number of well targeted small firms, those who present a growth rate superior to the average of the same line. Indeed, we notice, all around the world, in a given sector like high technology for example, some firms pass easily from one class to another. Besides, it is naturally advisable to support creation and innovation every time lively enterprising qualities appear.

In short, for an island as Corsica, getting out of the economic dependence does not seem too fanciful. Everything is possible when one really wants it. An example? The island of Iceland, bordering the polar ices, has a population of 300 000 inhabitants. They have been independent for over sixty years and their income per capita is one of the first ones in the world. Then why would not we follow the same development path?


Ghjacumu Orsoni, Emeritus Professor at the University of Corsica