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Corporatization and Firm Performance: Evidence from Publicly-Provided Local Utilities

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  • Cambini Carlo

    (Politecnico di Torino and HERMES-Italy)

  • Filippini Massimo

    (University of Lugano and ETH Zurich-Switzerland)

  • Piacenza Massimiliano

    (University of Torino, Ceris-CNR and HERMES-Italy)

  • Vannoni Davide

    (University of Torino and Collegio Carlo Alberto)

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of the corporatization process – i.e., the transformation of a municipal firm into a limited liability company – on the production costs of local public services whose ownership is maintained by the local government. Theoretical analysis predicts that, even without privatization, corporatization is a potentially effective way to improve efficiency (Shleifer and Vishny, 1994; Stiglitz, 2000). We explore this issue by using information on a typical local utility, such as the bus service provided by public transit systems in Italy, which experienced a reform of the governance towards the corporatization structure during the ’90s. The results on a sample of 33 local bus companies over the period 1993-2002 show that, even if public ownership persists, the transformation of a municipal enterprise into an autonomous company – corresponding to the first stage of the corporatization of local utilities in Italy – or into a limited liability company exerts a reducing impact on production costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Cambini Carlo & Filippini Massimo & Piacenza Massimiliano & Vannoni Davide, 2011. "Corporatization and Firm Performance: Evidence from Publicly-Provided Local Utilities," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 191-213, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:rlecon:v:7:y:2011:i:1:n:9
    DOI: 10.2202/1555-5879.1428
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    4. Filippini, M. & Koller, M. & Masiero, G., 2015. "Competitive tendering versus performance-based negotiation in Swiss public transport," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 158-168.
    5. Graziano Abrate & Federico Boffa & Fabrizio Erbetta & Davide Vannoni, 2018. "Voters’ Information, Corruption, and the Efficiency of Local Public Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Anna Menozzi & María Gutiérrez Urtiaga & Davide Vannoni, 2012. "Board composition, political connections, and performance in state-owned enterprises," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 21(3), pages 671-698, June.
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    10. Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Anna menozzi & Davide Vannoni, 2011. "The determinants of board compensation in SOEs: An application to Italian public utilities," Working papers 24, Former Department of Economics and Public Finance "G. Prato", University of Torino.
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