Abstract
In Italy, the local government and public services have long been treated as a complex, incoherent ‘puzzle’ across multiple levels of authority. The chapter analyses how, and how much, the governance of public and social services in Italy has been affected by NPM-inspired reforms aimed at rationalising provision and at increasing efficiency for over two decades. The authors show that reforms in both fields have had the effect of greatly increasing power at the local level at the expense of the intermediate levels, leading to widespread fragmentation. Moreover, in the absence of sound coordination mechanisms, such fragmentation has paved the way to an unclear definition of responsibilities; and the marked decentralisation of decision-making has implied poor integration and an inefficient scale of service delivery.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agostini, C. (2011). Social services and deviation from the Bismarckian model in Italy: The absence of a nationwide trend of change. International Review of Sociology, 21, 469–481.
Ascoli, U., & Ranci, C. (Eds.). (2002). Dilemmas of the welfare mix. New York: Springer.
Bobbio, L. (2005). Italy: After the storm. In L. Rose & B. Denters (Eds.), Comparing local governance. Trends and developments (pp. 29–46). New York: Palgrave.
Bolgherini, S. (2014). Can austerity lead to recentralisation? Italian local government during the economic crisis. South European Society and Politics, 19, 193–214.
Cassese, S. (1996). La trasformazione dei servizi pubblici in Italia. Economia Pubblica, 5, 5–14.
Cittalia. (2012). Ripensare allo sviluppo del welfare locale. Roma: Fondazione ANCI ricerche.
Dente, B. (1991). The fragmented reality of Italian local government. In J. J. Hesse (Ed.), Local government and urban affairs in international perspective (pp. 517–550). Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag.
Di Giulio, M. (2014). Strong interests, weak groups? The structure and strategies of interest groups in Italian transport policy. Contemporary Italian Politics, 6, 261–272.
Fargion, V. (1997). Geografia della cittadinanza sociale in Italia. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Gori, C. (Ed.). (2013). L’assistenza agli anziani non autosufficienti in Italia. Santarcangelo di Romagna: Maggioli.
ISTAT. (2006). Il sistema di indagini sulle acque, Informazioni n. 16/2006. Roma: ISTAT—Istituto Nazionale di Statistica.
ISTAT. (2014). Le partecipate pubbliche in Italia, Statistiche Report. Roma: ISTAT—Istituto Nazionale di Statistica.
Kuhlmann, S., & Wollmann, H. (2014). Introduction to comparative public administration. Administrative systems and reforms in Europe. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Lippi, A. (2011). Evaluating the ‘Quasi Federalist’ programme of decentralisation in Italy since the 1990s: A side-effect approach. Local Government Studies, 37, 495–516.
Lippi, A., Giannelli, N., Profeti, S., & Citroni, G. (2008). Adapting public-private governance to the local context. The case of water and sanitation services in Italy. Public Management Review, 10, 619–640.
Maino, F., & Ferrera, M. (Eds.). (2013). First report on second welfare in Italy. Torino: Centro Einaudi.
Palier, B. (Ed.). (2010). A long goodbye to Bismarck? Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Palier, B. (2013). Social policy paradigms, welfare state reforms and the crisis. Stato e Mercato, 33(1), 37–66.
Prontera, A., & Citroni, G. (2007). Énergie et administrations locales en Italie: Dénationalisation, libéralisation et concurrence. In Les collectivités territoriales et l’énergie: Annuaire 2007 des collectivités locales (pp. 191–208). Paris: CNRS Éditions.
Utilitatis. (2014a). Blue e-book. I dati sul servizio idico integrato in Italia. Roma: Fondazione Utilitatis pro acqua energia ambiente.
Utilitatis. (2014b). Green e-book. Aspetti economici della gestione dei rifiuti in Italia. Roma: Fondazione Utilitatis pro acqua energia ambiente.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Citroni, G., Lippi, A., Profeti, S. (2016). Local Public Services in Italy: Still Fragmentation. In: Wollmann, H., Koprić, I., Marcou, G. (eds) Public and Social Services in Europe. Governance and Public Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57499-2_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57499-2_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-57498-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-57499-2
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)