The sample estimates are uniformly below those of the Financial Accounts, even after harmonising all the definitions and the evaluation criteria. Such a problem can stem from the interviewee�s unwillingness to disclose the actual value of the asset (under-reporting). The paper presents a...

Italian Abstract: Le valutazioni sul debito sovrano emesse dalle agenzie di rating del credito possono avere una grande influenza sulle aspettative degli investitori. Durante la crisi del debito europeo, i paesi periferici della zona euro sono stati ripetutamente retrocessi. Secondo molti...

The Italian and European regulatory framework for patents would benefit from further improvements in order to foster dynamic competition between Italian firms. At the national level the exclusive allocation of the right to patent inventions to universities, rather than to researchers, would...

The aim of this paper is to review the main features of the new theory of public utilities regulation, theoretically assuming asymmetric information. The results considered imply a departure from first best outcomes and give way to a strategic interaction between firm and regulator. The role of...

There has been a significant increase in project financing in the public sector in Europe in the past decade, benefiting the implementation of infrastructure projects. In Italy, project financing is still much more limited than in such countries as Spain and the UK: the projects funded are...

Using data from a Bank of Italy survey, this paper analyzes the Italian taxi market and its recent changes. Local regulations are rather homogeneous, while there is a widespread disproportion, within municipal advisory committees, between the number of representatives of taxi drivers and that of...

This paper presents a quantitative and analytical documentation to the debate on taxi service liberalization. The results of a survey of the Bank of Italy on the main Italian cities show that the supply of taxi is much lower than that of other foreign cities. The paper gives also some...

The modernization of the solid waste management sector prompted by the Ronchi decree of 1997 has proceeded slowly and is far from being completed. Regional differentials in the effectiveness of local policies and in the efficiency of waste collection and disposal firms are still large. Southern...

The paper investigates the organization of the Italian water sector in the light of the reforms of public utilities. The aim is to examine the degree of implementation of the water sector reform (the so-called Galli Law of 1994) and assess the performance of operators through a study of their...

Italian Abstract: La qualità dell’approvvigionamento energetico costituisce un importante fattore di competitività per le imprese e di benessere per le famiglie. Analizzando i divari sul territorio italiano nella continuità della fornitura elettrica, il lavoro mostra come, in media per...