IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/fan/epepep/vhtml10.3280-ep2021-003005.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economie di integrazione verticale ed economie di scopo nel settore idrico e fognario: alcune considerazioni alla luce dell?evidenza empirica internazionale

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Bottasso
  • Maurizio Conti

Abstract

In questo lavoro vengono affrontati due temi molto rilevanti nel dibattito eco-nomico relativo alla configurazione ottimale dei settori idrico e fognario. In par-ticolare, viene discussa la letteratura empirica internazionale che ha analizzato l?esistenza di possibili economie di scopo derivanti dalla gestione congiunta del servizio idrico al dettaglio e all?ingrosso. A questo proposito, la maggioranza degli studi esaminati tende a identificare l?esistenza di non trascurabili economie di integrazione verticale, soprattutto nel caso di operatori di medie e piccole dimen-sioni. Inoltre, viene passata in rassegna l?evidenza empirica relativa alla presenza di economie di scopo tra il servizio di depurazione e smaltimento delle acque reflue e le parti rimanenti della filiera del Servizio Idrico Integrato. Da questi lavori sembra di poter concludere che esistano di economie di scopo tra (alcune delle) componenti della filiera idrica e fognaria per imprese di dimensioni medio-piccole. In particolare, tali economie sarebbero presenti nei segmenti dove ? pi? semplice condividere taluni fattori produttivi, oltre alla competenza tecnico-manageriale, quali il segmento relativo alla potabilizzazione dell?acqua e quello del trattamento e smaltimento dei reflui. Il lavoro discute infine l?applicabilit? di tali risultati al caso italiano

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Bottasso & Maurizio Conti, 2021. "Economie di integrazione verticale ed economie di scopo nel settore idrico e fognario: alcune considerazioni alla luce dell?evidenza empirica internazionale," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(3), pages 89-128.
    • Handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/ep2021-003005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista.aspx?IDArticolo=69697&Tipo=ArticoloPDF
    Download Restriction: Single articles can be downloaded buying download credits, for info: https://www.francoangeli.it/DownloadCredit
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carvalho, Pedro & Marques, Rui Cunha & Berg, Sanford, 2012. "A meta-regression analysis of benchmarking studies on water utilities market structure," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 40-49.
    2. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1990. "Property Rights and the Nature of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1119-1158, December.
    3. Baumol, William J, 1982. "Contestable Markets: An Uprising in the Theory of Industry Structure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(1), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Pedro Carvalho & Rui Cunha Marques, 2015. "Estimating Size and Scope Economies in the Portuguese Water Sector Using the Most Appropriate Functional Form," The Engineering Economist, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(2), pages 109-137, April.
    5. E L Lynk, 1993. "Privatisation, joint production and the comparative efficiencies of private and public ownership: the UK water industry case," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 14(2), pages 98-116, May.
    6. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    7. Guerrini, Andrea & Romano, Giulia & Leardini, Chiara, 2018. "Economies of scale and density in the Italian water industry: A stochastic frontier approach," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 103-111.
    8. Rita Martins & Adelino Fortunato & Fernando Coelho, 2006. "Cost Structure of the Portuguese Water Industry: a Cubic Cost Function Application," GEMF Working Papers 2006-09, GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra.
    9. Bottasso, Anna & Conti, Maurizio & Piacenz, Massimiliano & Vannoni, Davide, 2011. "The appropriateness of the poolability assumption for multiproduct technologies: Evidence from the English water and sewerage utilities," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 112-117, March.
    10. Saal David S. & Arocena Pablo & Maziotis Alexandros & Triebs Thomas, 2013. "Scale and Scope Economies and the Efficient Vertical and Horizontal Configuration of the Water Industry: A Survey of the Literature," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 93-129, March.
    11. Graziano Abrate & Clementina Bruno & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Anna Giolitti, 2017. "Efficiency in the Consolidation of the Italian Water Sector," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(8), pages 2447-2463, June.
    12. Pollitt, Michael G. & Steer, Steven J., 2012. "Economies of scale and scope in network industries: Lessons for the UK water and sewerage sectors," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 17-31.
    13. Angel Prieto & José L. Zofio & Inmaculada Alvarez, 2009. "Economías de escala, densidad y alcance en la provisión pública de infraestructura básica municipal," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 190(3), pages 59-94, September.
    14. Carvalho, Pedro & Marques, Rui Cunha, 2014. "Computing economies of vertical integration, economies of scope and economies of scale using partial frontier nonparametric methods," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 234(1), pages 292-307.
    15. Youn Kim, H. & Clark, Robert M., 1988. "Economies of scale and scope in water supply," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 479-502, November.
    16. Serge Garcia & Alban Thomas, 2001. "The Structure of Municipal Water Supply Costs: Application to a Panel of French Local Communities," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 5-29, July.
    17. Mark Armstrong & Simon Cowan & John Vickers, 1994. "Regulatory Reform: Economic Analysis and British Experience," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262510790, December.
    18. Panzar, John C., 1989. "Technological determinants of firm and industry structure," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: R. Schmalensee & R. Willig (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 3-59, Elsevier.
    19. Giovanni Fraquelli & Massimiliano Piacenza & Davide Vannoni, 2004. "Scope and scale economies in multi-utilities: evidence from gas, water and electricity combinations," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(18), pages 2045-2057.
    20. Rita Martins & Fernando Coelho & Adelino Fortunato, 2012. "Water losses and hydrographical regions influence on the cost structure of the Portuguese water industry," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 81-94, August.
    21. Torres, Marcelo & Morrison Paul, Catherine J., 2006. "Driving forces for consolidation or fragmentation of the US water utility industry: A cost function approach with endogenous output," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 104-120, January.
    22. Garcia, Serge & Moreaux, Michel & Reynaud, Arnaud, 2007. "Measuring economies of vertical integration in network industries: An application to the water sector," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 791-820, August.
    23. Andrea Guerrini & Giulia Romano & Bettina Campedelli, 2013. "Economies of Scale, Scope, and Density in the Italian Water Sector: A Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(13), pages 4559-4578, October.
    24. Marques, Rui Cunha & De Witte, Kristof, 2011. "Is big better? On scale and scope economies in the Portuguese water sector," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 1009-1016, May.
    25. Takuya Urakami, 2007. "Economies of vertical integration in the Japanese water supply industry," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 27(2), pages 129-141, August.
    26. Hunt, Lester C & Lynk, Edward L, 1995. "Privatisation and Efficiency in the UK Water Industry: An Empirical Analysis," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(3), pages 371-388, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Saal David S. & Arocena Pablo & Maziotis Alexandros & Triebs Thomas, 2013. "Scale and Scope Economies and the Efficient Vertical and Horizontal Configuration of the Water Industry: A Survey of the Literature," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 93-129, March.
    2. Andrea Guerrini & Giulia Romano & Bettina Campedelli, 2013. "Economies of Scale, Scope, and Density in the Italian Water Sector: A Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis Approach," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(13), pages 4559-4578, October.
    3. Carvalho, Pedro & Marques, Rui Cunha & Berg, Sanford, 2012. "A meta-regression analysis of benchmarking studies on water utilities market structure," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 40-49.
    4. Guerrini, Andrea & Romano, Giulia & Leardini, Chiara, 2018. "Economies of scale and density in the Italian water industry: A stochastic frontier approach," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 103-111.
    5. Michael Zschille, 2015. "Consolidating the water industry: an analysis of the potential gains from horizontal integration in a conditional efficiency framework," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 97-114, August.
    6. Michael Zschille, 2012. "Consolidating the Water Industry: An Analysis of the Potential Gains from Horizontal Integration in a Conditional Efficiency Framework," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1187, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Zschille, Michael, 2012. "Consolidating the Water Industry: An Analysis of the Potential Gains from Horizontal Integration in a Conditional Efficiency Fr," CEPR Discussion Papers 8737, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Ferro, Gustavo & Lentini, Emilio & Mercadier, Augusto & Romero, Carlos A., 2010. "Retornos a escala en agua y saneamiento: estimaciones para América Latina [Returns to scale in water and sanitation: estimates for Latin Amercia]," MPRA Paper 20324, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jan 2010.
    9. Augusto Mercadier & Walter Cont & Gustavo Ferro, 2016. "Economies of scale in Peru’s water and sanitation sector," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 215-228, April.
    10. Malcolm Abbott & Bruce Cohen, 2010. "Industry Structure Issues in the Water and Wastewater Sectors in Australia," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 29(1), pages 48-63, March.
    11. Maria Molinos-Senante & Alexandros Maziotis, 2021. "Productivity growth, economies of scale and scope in the water and sewerage industry: The Chilean case," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-16, May.
    12. Michael Zschille, 2014. "Nonparametric measures of returns to scale: an application to German water supply," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1029-1053, November.
    13. Walter, Matthias & Cullmann, Astrid & von Hirschhausen, Christian & Wand, Robert & Zschille, Michael, 2009. "Quo vadis efficiency analysis of water distribution? A comparative literature review," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 225-232, September.
    14. Abbott, Malcolm & Cohen, Bruce, 2009. "Productivity and efficiency in the water industry," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3-4), pages 233-244, September.
    15. Mydland, Ørjan & Kumbhakar, Subal C. & Lien, Gudbrand & Amundsveen, Roar & Kvile, Hilde Marit, 2020. "Economies of scope and scale in the Norwegian electricity industry," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 39-46.
    16. Klien, Michael & Michaud, David, 2019. "Water utility consolidation: Are economies of scale realized?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    17. Michael Zschille, 2016. "Cost Structure and Economies of Scale in German Water Supply," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1576, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    18. Ángel M. Prieto & José L. Zofío & Inmaculada Álvarez, 2015. "Cost economies, urban patterns and population density: The case of public infrastructure for basic utilities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(4), pages 795-816, November.
    19. Martins, Rita & Fortunato, Adelino, 2016. "Critical analysis of the Portuguese Water Industry Restructuring Plan," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(PB), pages 131-139.
    20. Michael Zschille, 2014. "Marktstrukturen in der Trinkwasserversorgung," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 43, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    settore idrico; economie di scopo; integrazione verticale;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L95 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Gas Utilities; Pipelines; Water Utilities

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:fan:epepep:v:html10.3280/ep2021-003005. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Stefania Rosato (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/sommario.aspx?IDRivista=16 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.