We argue that the concession contracts in the Italian water sector may have been shaped by the very local circumstances. In turn, different contract designs may have influenced the aptitude of bidding companies. To investigate these issues, we assemble an original dataset and two composite...

The Italian water sector has encompassed major changes since mid‐90s when law 96/94 has entered into force. Next to private participation, integration of services and growth in production scales, the reform was intended to revolutionize the traditional financial model almost fully based on...

This paper aims at proposing an economic analysis of mixed enterprises in local utilities. We suggest that the public service concession to mixed enterprises could embody a noteworthy substitute to the traditional public provision and the concession to totally private enterprises. The starting...