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Ceris-Cnr, W.P. N° 02/2010 Il servizio idrico in Italia:
un’analisi empirica sull’efficienza dei gestori
*
Abstract: In this paper we investigate the existence of the economies of scale and density in the Italian water sector, in the period 2005-2007. For this purpose, given the current developments of the reform introduced by the Galli Law, we review the main studies on the cost variables and on the evidence of economies of scale and density in this sector. Considering a sample of thirty water firms, through the use of descriptive statistics we find the values of the most important variables used to study efficiency and productivity, such as the average labour cost per employee and the Km of network per user. The econometric analysis on efficiency is conducted by using the SURE method in the estimate of a TransLog variable cost function. The results show evidence of economies of scale and density in the short and in the long run. The small-medium firms display significant economies, whereas, as size increases, benefits from scale gradually decline until they turn to diseconomies of scale for companies serving a population of more than 500000. Keywords: Water sector, Efficiency, Economies of scale, Economies of density, SURE method JEL-codes: C51, L95 * Si ringraziano il Centro di Ricerca Hermes, in particolar modo i professori Fabrizio Erbetta, Giovanni Fraquelli e Davide Vannoni per i preziosi suggerimenti, e l’Istituto di Ricerca sull’Impresa e lo Sviluppo (Ceris-CNR) di Moncalieri per la collaborazione prestata per la raccolta dei dati.
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