Nuovi contributi in tema di efficienza nel settore idrico italiano

Efficiency is one of the goals of incentive regulation, pursued with the aim of reconciling the high need for investments that characterizes the water sector with the issue of tariff sustainability. The present work offers a survey of the most recent economic studies about efficiency in the Italian water sector. The analyzed literature highlights the existence a considerable potential for productivity improvements. A regulatory framework based on “standard costs”, designed on the basis of a robust methodological approach, can play a crucial role in bringing out this potential. By conveniently considering the impact that the served area’s and firm characteristics have on performance, such a framework may facilitate a proper calibration of the benchmark comparison of operators and the design of effective incentives schemes. A fine-tuned regulatory system may lead to a correct reorganization of the industrial structure, possibly achieved through mergers.