In this paper, we look at the Italian National Health System as a case study, in order to investigate whether competition exerts positive effect on the efficiency of the system. Using the DEA technique we measure the efficiency of accredited hospital production at the regional level; secondly,...

Purpose: This paper aims at contributing to the research on the role played by corruption in the health procurement by use non-parametric techniques to examine whether the efficient execution of Italian public contracts for healthcare infrastructures is affected by socio-economic variables...

Based on the literature on public procurement regulation, we use an Agent-Based Model to assess the performance of different selection procedures. Specifically, we aim at investigating whether and how the inclusion of reputation of firms in the public procurement selection process affects the...

Public infrastructure procurement is crucial as a prerequisite for public and private investments and for economic and social capital growth. However, low performance in execution severely hinders infrastructure provision and benefits delivery. One of the most sensitive phases in public...

The paper investigates the efficiency of procurement for medical devices. Differentiation of products in this market, due to doctors' preferences for specific technologies, might reduce the number of suppliers and the potential positive impact of auctions relative to negotiations. Using a large...

A well-known proposition, derived from public choice theory, contends that the replacement of current tax financing by government borrowing reduces the perceived price of government goods and services and increases their demand. The authors examine two important empirical tests of this...

This chapter shows how economic theory and public policy analysis can illuminate decision-making relating to cultural heritage. We argue that from an economic viewpoint the appropriate conceptualisation of heritage is as a capital asset. Regarding heritage as cultural capital invites...

Government regulation plays a significant role in the field of heritage conservation. Namely, regulation is aimed at controlling the stock of heritage, restricting or modifying the activities of public as well as private actors. Surprisingly, the literature has neither extensively investigated...

This paper aims at analysing the procurement of public works paying attention to the level of government involved. Such an issue has not received so far attention in the literature on fiscal federalism nor in the public works procurement literature. We focus the attention upon the execution...