The Italian system of local public utilities has recently undergone an important reform process. The first round of reforms, introduced in the 1990s, represented a remarkable change in the social welfare function with regard to the management of local public utilities. The legislation was...

Public utilities, public enterprises, privatizations, liberalizations and related topics have been the object of far reaching and intense debate among economists, politicians and practitioners for more than a century. Ideas have frequently changed, and practical solutions chosen to manage public...