Privatization in Italy: an analysis of factors productivity and technical efficiency

This work aims at investigating the changes in technical efficiency following the privatization of 39 Italian medium-sized firms operating in competitive sectors. Using Data Envelopment Analysis over a period of 10 years we highlight that, apart from acquisitions by foreign groups, there have not been significant changes in the levels of total efficiency. The only statistically significant change concerns the strong recovery in labour productivity that showed to be continuous even during the period undergoing public control. The results, in contrast with the main theoretical predictions, shift attention to the Italian financial market. A weak incentive system and the low competition in the access to the market for corporate control seem to be the main explanatory variables.