Edizioni FrancoAngeli - Last issue of QA Rivista dell’Associazione Rossi-Doria (1/2012)

Economia e politica delle infrastrutture in Italia

Fri, 15 Mar 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Fabrizio Balassone, Riccardo Crescenzi
Economics and Politics of Infrastructure Investments in Italy The generalised economic downturn in developed countries and the significant constraints on both their monetary and fiscal policies have prompted new infrastructure investments as a tool to promote economic growth. However, both the critical analysis of the existing academic literature and the new empirical evidence offered by the papers included in this Special Issue shed new light on some potential drawbacks of infrastructure investments in Italy, suggesting that new infrastructure should be included in a balanced mix of development policies. EconLit Classification: R11, R12, R42, R58

L'impatto macroeconomico delle infrastrutture: una rassegna della letteratura e un'analisi empirica per l'Italia

Fri, 15 Mar 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Valter Di Giacinto, Giacinto Micucci, Pasqualino Montanaro
The Macroeconomic Impact of Infrastructures: A Literature Review and Empirical Analysis on the Case of Italy This paper aims to analyze the macroeconomic impact of infrastructures through review of the literature, meta-analysis and empirical analysis of the Italian data. We report a general consensus over the positive effects of infrastructures, even though the results are affected by the estimation techniques adopted. The empirical exercise on the Italian data shows that public capital has effectively exerted positive long-run effects on growth, also fostering private investment. Nevertheless, the results should not be taken as a general prompt to increase investment, the effects depending mainly on the efficiency of the spending and production process. EconLit Classification: H54, O40

La spesa per infrastrutture in Italia: dinamica recente, confronto internazionale e divari regionale

Fri, 15 Mar 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Pasqualino Montanaro
Infrastructure Expenditure in Italy: Recent Dynamics, International Comparisons and Regional Divides Many see the infrastructure lag as weighing heavily on recovery of competitiveness for Italy, and Southern Italy in particular. One of the possible reasons for this lag may be that Italy has invested less than other European countries over the past decades, and even less in the South. On the evidence of the available data, imprecise, incomplete and patchy as they often are, infrastructure investment in Italy does not appear to have been smaller than in other countries, at least up to the Eighties; however, over the last two decades investment in the South has progressively declined, with negative effects on public capital accumulation. EconLit Classification: H54, R53

Gli indicatori territoriali sulle infrastrutture di trasporto: cosa possono e non possono dire

Fri, 15 Mar 2012 8:00:00 GMT

What the Regional Transport Infrastructure Indicators Can and Cannot Tell Us This paper proposes a taxonomy of the main regional transport infrastructure indicators available in Italy and discusses the principal merits and limitations of each of them. The indexes show scant correlation and may offer contrasting data on the infrastructure endowment of a given area. As a result, there is no index to favour above the others; rather, different indicators satisfy different fact-finding purposes. We conclude that it is not only desirable to have more and better indexes, but also that it is necessary to choose the indicator only after rigorous identification of the data sought. EconLit Classification: R400, H540, L910

Le criticità nel finanziamento, nella programmazione e nella selezione delle infrastrutture in Italia

Fri, 15 Mar 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Piero Casadio, Marco Paccagnella
Criticalities in the Funding, Planning and Selection of Infrastructure Projects in Italy This paper highlights some drawbacks in the planning of infrastructures and public works in Italy. The major flaws lie in the overlapping of competences and failure to implement effective coordination mechanisms among the different levels of government, together with the lack of a clear financial framework and funding mechanisms that lead to a number of works in excess of the available funds. These problems are aggravated by deficient monitoring and evaluation of interventions, whether in progress or ex post. EconLit Classification: H54, H72, R53