Tulli, Andrea (2020) Essays in public economics. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the effects of various public policies on the behaviour of Italian municipalities. The different topics are summarised below.

Chapter 1 studies how the implementation of an anti-corruption measure in a municipality affects the procurement behaviour of neighbouring municipalities that are not directly targeted. I exploit the implementation of the dissolution of a municipal government for infiltration by organised crime. I show that these municipalities react in two ways: first, they issue more contracts under a threshold (40,000 Euro) below which evidentiary requirements become less stringent and transparency is lower, making more difficult to prove any illicit. The response accounts for approximately 20 per cent of the yearly average expenditure from 40,000 Euros to 100,000 Euros. Second, municipalities amend less often contracts for public works and the existing amendments are smaller in size. Amending a contract is a practice considered as a signal of potential corruption.

Chapter 2 investigates how fiscal decentralization affects local public spending in Italy. We exploit an unexpected reform of the property tax implemented in Italy in 2012. The reform increased in decentralization with the increase of the municipal property tax coupled with a large reduction in national transfers to municipalities. Using an instrumental variable approach, we show large het- erogeneity in the amount municipalities actually collected with their newfound discretion, compared to the government suggestion. On average, municipalities increase the total revenue and spending on public services. Finally, we show that greater decentralisation affects differently municipalities subject to fiscal rules.

Chapter 3 studies the impact of fiscal rules limiting the deficit accumulation on the procurement behaviour of Italian municipalities. Using data on procurement contracts from 2008 to 2015, we show two findings. First, municipalities subject to fiscal rules decrease by 4 percent the number of contracts issued every year and municipal spending on public works is reduced by 18 percent. Second, fiscal rules also impact the effectiveness of public spending. After the DSP is implemented, delays in the execution of public works are approximately 40 percent shorter. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that fiscal rules impact both the level of investment and the effectiveness of public spending.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HJ Public Finance
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Cities and towns -- Italy, Municipal government -- Economic aspects -- Italy, Municipal government -- Corrupt practices -- Italy, Municipal finance -- Italy, Local taxation -- Italy, Budget deficits -- Law and legislation -- Italy
Official Date:	July 2020
Dates:	Date Event July 2020 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Economics
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Almunia, Miguel
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	vii, 105 leaves : illustrations, maps
Language:	eng

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