1,721,033 research outputs found
Restructuring Italian Utility Markets: Household Distributional Effects
No full textNota di Lavoro 134.2005, Fondazione Eni Enrico Matte
Energy affordability and the benefits system in Italy
No full textIn this paper, we discuss a number of ways to define and measure the affordability of energy consumption, and we examine the emergence of energy poverty in Italy in the period from 1998 to 2011. The paper examines the eligibility criteria for claiming the benefits available to support energy consumption for vulnerable families and it identifies the potential beneficiaries. The study assesses the appropriateness of the eligibility criteria by comparing the population targeted by the policy with the
population actually facing affordability problems. A simulation exercise, using the hypothetical scenario most likely to result in energy benefits made available, shows that, regardless of the affordability index adopted, the provision of state energy benefits has little impact on fuel poverty
Temporary partnership and subcontracting: Pre- vs. post- award outsourcing in public procurement
No full textWe empirically compare bids (i.e. prices) from temporary partnerships (TPs), that outsource part of the contract before the auction, and firms that outsource afterwards. Using a comprehensive dataset on procurement auctions for public works in Valle d'Aosta (Italy), we find that the timing of outsourcing affects the bids and the probability of winning the auction. Specifically, TPs bid closer to the payoff maximizing offer and are more likely to win. Hence, the price paid by the public buyer is lower. These results are supported by a simple theoretical setting showing that, by pre-committing to a TP, suppliers have a lower risk of being “held up” by subcontractors than firms that outsource part of the work after the bidding phase. Our results show the advantage for TPs of freely choosing partners, size and boundaries before the auction, highlighting their potential in fostering the effective participation in public procurement procedures of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Institutional and regulatory reform of the Italian motorway industry: a first empirical assessment
No full textThe Italian highway industry has undergone an institutional and regulatory reform through the last 15 years, characterised by changes in ownership and the introduction of a regulatory framework based on price cap regulation. To assess the effect of the reforms on firms’ performance, we use information on a sample of Italian concessionaires (virtually representing all the industry) over the 1992-2003 period and 1) estimate the technical progress in the industry, thereby providing a reference value for the X factor in the price cap formula; 2) assess the relative productivity of private vs. public concessionaires; 3) evaluate whether price cap regulation has induced firms to use resources efficiently, 4) determine the possible effect of the inclusion of the quality index in the price cap formula. We find that the introduction of a price cap regime does not increase firms’ productivity whereas a sharp increase in maintenance costs is recorded, arguably due to the presence of the quality indicator in the price cap formula. Furthermore, firms appear to have gained from the privatisation process and from a technical progress occurred in the period. We also find high density economies and a steady and large increase in traffic
The design of the university system
No full textThis paper compares the organisation of the university sector under unregulated private provision with the structure which would be chosen by a welfare maximising government. It studies a general equilibrium model where students attend university to earn higher incomes in the labour market, and universities
teach them and carry out research. Each university chooses its tuition fee to maximise the amount of resources it can devote to research. Research bestows an externality on society. Government intervention needs to balance labour market efficiency considerations – which would tend to equalise the number of students attending each university – with considerations of efficiency on the production side, which suggest that the most productive universities should teach more students and carry out more research. We find that government
concentrates research more that the private marketwould, but less than it would like to do if it had perfect information about the productivity of universities. It also allows fewer universities than would operate in a private system
Verso la definizione e la misurazione dei concetti di affordability nei servizi elettrici
No full text- …
