Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Leonzio Rizzo Title: Introduzione Abstract: Classification-JEL: Keywords: Note: Pages:5-9 Volume: 2016/1 Year: 2016 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=57031&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/EP2016-001001 Number: 1 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Giampaolo Arachi Author-Name: Giuseppe Di Liddo Author-Name: Michele G. Giuranno Title: Cooperazione locale in Italia: le unioni di comuni Abstract: This study presents an analysis of the financial statements of consortia from 2005 to 2012. The data come from the final accounts made available by the Ministry of Interior and cover 404 consortia and 2,090 participating municipalities that, with an average adhesion of 5.17 municipalities per consortium, represent 25.95% of the total municipalities. The goal of the analysis is to identify the existence of different types of consortia, characterized by both the composition of joint expenses and financing sources, and to assess the effect that the consortium has on both the overall levels of spending and its composition. In light of the above data, we can state that the weight, in terms of revenue and expenditure of municipal consortia, within the Italian public administration has so far been modest. However, the degree of activism of consortia, in terms of the ratio between the consortium per capita expenditure and the per capita expenditure of the belonging municipalities, is very heterogeneous both regionally and for spending functions. Classification-JEL: H70; H73; H77 Keywords: Note: Pages:11-36 Volume: 2016/1 Year: 2016 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=57032&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/EP2016-001002 Number: 2 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Giovanna Di Ielsi Author-Name: Francesco Porcelli Author-Name: Alberto Zanardi Title: La valutazione dell?efficienza nelle forme associate dei Comuni italiani: la lezione dei fabbisogni standard Abstract: This paper uses data collected for the determination of standard expenditure needs indicators recently published in opencivitas.it to shed light on some relevant profiles of the process of inter-municipal association under way in Italy. The paper shows firstly the distribution of the various forms of municipal association across regional territories and secondly whether cost savings actually result from the econometric estimation of standard expenditure needs indicators in the case that municipal associations are adopted in the public services provision. In particular, it is pointed out that in municipal services characterized by significant economies of scale the evaluation of the efficiency gains resulting from municipal associations could be distorted if associations are compared with single municipalities with the same features (especially in terms of population size). Instead, these efficiency gains, if any, would be correctly measured if the municipalities participating to an association (and not the association itself) were directly compared with the municipalities not involved in any association forms. Classification-JEL: H70, H7 Keywords: Note: Pages:37-58 Volume: 2016/1 Year: 2016 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=57033&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/EP2016-001003 Number: 3 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Tommaso Agasisti Author-Name: Antonio Dal Bianco Author-Name: Massimo Griffini Title: The public sector efficiency in Italy: The case of Lombardy municipalities in the provision of the essential public services Abstract: This paper evaluates how efficient are the municipalities located in the most populous Italian Region (Lombardy) in providing essential public services: general administration, municipal and administrative police, waste collection, road network and street lighting. The empirical analysis is conducted through bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) on a sample of 331 municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, and refers to the three years 2010, 2011 and 2012. The results highlight that there is room for substantial improvement of efficiency: the same level of output can be obtained while reducing the resources of about 33%. A second-stage truncated regression reveals that: the structure of population matters, scale effects do exist, and more financially healthy municipalities are also more efficient in providing essential services Classification-JEL: H72, H83 Keywords: Note: Pages:59-84 Volume: 2016/1 Year: 2016 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=57034&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/EP2016-001004 Number: 4 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Giorgio Brosio Title: Un po? di political economy dei processi di ristrutturazione del governo locale in alcuni paesi Europei: Francia, Spagna e Danimarca a confronto Abstract: The paper offers a review of the recent processes of structural reform of subnational government in France, Spain and Denmark. Shrinking the number of levels of government and of the number of units at each level was the main aim of those processes. The paper analyzes motivation and results, focusing on political and institutional constraints with a special emphasis on the impact of electoral systems. Spain and France show similarities with Italy concerning the structure of decentralized government and ambitions of reform. Denmark represents a very interesting case combining a pure proportional system of representation with a corporatist decision-making process. This combination requires a global and negotiated approach to intergovernmental reform, also. France and Spain seem to have operated within a shorter time frame that privileges immediate results. Contrary to Denmark established layers of government in both France and Spain, such as the municipalities and the provinces, seem to have been almost immune to reform. Classification-JEL: D72, H70, H77 Keywords: Note: Pages:85-106 Volume: 2016/1 Year: 2016 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=57035&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/EP2016-001005 Number: 5 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Sabrina Iommi Author-Name: Donatella Marinari Title: Frammentazione comunale e spesa pubblica: una proposta di aggregazione sui sistemi locali del lavoro Abstract: Representing the needs of local communities and providing them with daily public services are the main tasks of municipalities and the way they affect both the residents? quality of life and the firms? competitiveness. Institutional hyper-fragmentation, however, imposes high costs to the whole system, multiplying the operating costs, which divert resources away from the services? financing. Unlike other studies, this work does not aim to identify an optimal size for local governments, but rather to simulate the cost savings applying a more realistic territorial organization, based on daily commuting areas (Local Labour Systems by Istat). The paper assumes the administrative expenses and those for government bodies as a measure for operating costs, analyzes their components and determinants, estimating two different functions of municipal expenditure and simulates the possible saving, applying both an average need requirement and a minimum need requirement criterion. Classification-JEL: D7, H7, R1 Keywords: Note: Pages:107-136 Volume: 2016/1 Year: 2016 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=57036&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/EP2016-001006 Number: 6 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Howard Chernick Author-Name: Santino Piazza Title: Fiscal gaps in amalgamated metropolitan areas: The case of Turin and Genoa Abstract: Estimates of fiscal capacity and expenditure needs are used to evaluate the relative fiscal health of municipalities in the metropolitan areas of Genoa and Turin. Using 2012 data, we find that in both areas the inner core is fiscally disadvantaged, in Turin relative to the adjacent belts, and in Genoa relative to the rest of the province. Despite higher fiscal capacity in a relatively resilient center city, the service requirements for which the city of Turin is responsible still leave it in weaker fiscal health than its suburbs. In Genoa, which has had a similar degree of economic decline as Turin, the entire metro area is fiscally weak relative to the rest of the province. One possible solution to the uneven geographic distribution of fiscal capacity and expenditure needs in metro areas is amalgamation. We simulate static amalgamations, in which the separate fiscal resources of the inner core city and the outer belts are combined into a single entity, and the expenditure needs are also equally shared across the metro area. In Turin, a metropolitan fiscal combination (ignoring the rest of the province) would, at least in the first instance, prove fiscally beneficial to Turin. In the case of Genoa, the fiscal weakness of the entire metropolitan area means that, for amalgamation to benefit the inner core, the merger would have to include at least some of the municipalities in the rest of the province. Classification-JEL: H71, H77, R51, H11 Keywords: Note: Pages:137-171 Volume: 2016/1 Year: 2016 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=57037&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/EP2016-001007 Number: 7 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Francesca Nordi Author-Name: Leonzio Rizzo Title: Abolizione delle province e riallocazione delle spese: il caso della Lombardia Abstract: The law 56/2014 (the so-called Delrio law), endorsed by the Lombardy region with the regional law 19/2015, defines the core spending functions that must remain in the hands of provinces. The remaining non-core functions will be, according to the law, managed by the regions. In this paper we identify the core functions by comparing those of the actual provincial budget to those defined by the Delrio law. We then propose to quantify the possible savings by comparing per capita expenditures (remained to provinces) of demographically similar provinces. In particular, we compare per capita expenditures of Lombardy provinces with per capita average expenditure of Italian provinces belonging to the respective population class. In addition, the work, identifies efficient management areas of non-core functions that the law 56/2014 delegates to regions. Classification-JEL: H70, H72, H77 Keywords: Note: Pages:173-191 Volume: 2016/1 Year: 2016 Issue:1 File-URL:http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=57038&Tipo=Articolo PDF File-Format: text/HTML Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/EP2016-001008 Number: 8