La gestione dei servizi pubblici locali in Sicilia

La gestione dei servizi pubblici locali in Sicilia (di Giuseppe Ciaccio e Giovanni Serio) - ABSTRACT: The paper examines the main local public services in Sicily (water, transportation, energy, house refuse removal and street cleaning service), whose reform is increasingly perceived as a key step towards the competitiveness of local economic areas. An overview on the forms of supply of local services (by municipalities, municipal firms or private suppliers) in towns with over 20.000 inhabitants is provided; then we analyse the efficiency and performance indicators in every utility and compare those of Sicilian "aziende speciali" (local government firms) with national benchmarks. Our results show that most local public suppliers have recently undertaken management reform programs in order to streamline their organisation and improve their quality standards. Yet, the results are still to come and the innovation processes are slow and often ineffective if compared with those of other regions: prices in water and gas supply sectors are among the highest in Italy. Productivity indicators are consistently below the average of the country. As a result consumers, firms and municipal budget bear the consequences in terms of social welfare, competitiveness and local public expenditure. JEL L90 L33