The paper analyses the sharp divergence in the nineties between capital formation in the main euro area countries, on the one hand, and the United States, on the other. We have used data from the OECD's International Sectoral Data Base (ISDB), which includes data comparable across a certain...

In this paper we discuss procedural and contractual aspects of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in Italy, in the light of the economic theory of contracts and of incentives. We emphasize the potential role for PPPs for infrastructure development in Italy and the inefficiencies that arise in...

This paper examines the results of a survey carried out in 2007 by the Bank of Italy concerning different characteristics of the organization of lending activities. Between 2003 and 2006 the physical distance between the headquarters and the branches increased, the limits to the decision-making...