Mixed Public-Private Enterprises in Europe: Economic Theory and an Empirical Analysis of Italian Water Utilities. Bruges European Economic Research (BEER) Papers 4/July 2006

Mixed enterprises, which are entities jointly owned by the public and private sector, are spreading all over Europe in local utilities. Well aware that in the vast majority of cases the preference of local authorities towards such governance structure is determined by practical reasons rather than by the ambition to implement new regulatory designs (an alternative to the typical “external” regulation), our purpose is to confer some scientific value to this phenomenon which has not been sufficiently investigated in the economic literature. This paper aims at proposing an economic analysis of mixed enterprises, especially of the specific configuration in which the public partner acts as controller and the private one (or “industrial” partner) as service provider. We suggest that the public service concession to mixed enterprises could embody, under certain conditions, a noteworthy substitute to the traditional public provision and the concession to totally private enterprises, as it can push regulated operators to outperform and limit the risk of private opportunism. The starting point of the entire analysis is that ownership allows the (public) owner to gather more information about the actual management of the firm, according to property rights theory. Following this stream of research, we conclude that under certain conditions mixed enterprises could significantly reduce asymmetric information between regulators and regulated firms by implementing a sort of “internal” regulation. With more information, in effect, the public authority (as owner/controller of the regulated firm, but also as member of the regulatory agency) can stimulate the private operator to be more efficient and can monitor it more effectively with respect to the fulfilment of contractual obligations (i.e., public service obligations, quality standards, etc.). Moreover, concerning the latter function, the board of directors of the mixed enterprise can be the suitable place where public and private representatives (respectively, welfare and profit maximisers) can meet to solve all disputes arising from incomplete contracts, without recourse to third parties. Finally, taking into account that a disproportionate public intervention in the “private” administration (or an ineffective protection of the general interest) would imply too many drawbacks, we draw some policy implications that make an equitable debate on the board of the firm feasible. Some empirical evidence is taken from the Italian water sector.

Offshoring of Information-intensive Services: Structural Breaks in Industry Life Cycles. ACES Working Papers, August 2010

The emergence of widespread offshoring of information-intensive services is arguably one of the more impactful phenomena to transform business in the last ten years. A growing body of research has examined the firm-level drivers andlocation factors (i.e., the why's and where's) of services offshoring. However, little empirical research has examined the maturation sequencing (or when's) of services offshoring. Adopting industry life cycle theory as a framework, the key research questions examined in the paper are: when do different categories of offshoring services provision change from being emergent sectors to more mature ones, and how does the timing of this sequence relate to the type of service offshored. Using a database of 1420 offshore services FDI projects, we find that the value-add as well as the information sensitivity of the service category are related to when the service categories progress through the industry life cycle. Implications for future waves of service offshoring are discussed.

Dr. Clark's recipe book : Valuable information for the human family.

"Dr. Clark" pseud. of Jacob S. Ammon.

Review of activities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, July 17, 1979, and February 7, 1980.

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc.

Private funding opportunities in Illinois by county for soil and water conservation districts.

Information obtained from the National data book, 6th edition.

Interim report of activities of the private welfare and pension plan study, 1971 [microform] : report, pursuant to S. Res. 35, section 4 (92d Cong., 1st sess.) (together with additional views)

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc.

Information about-- the Office of Non-Public Education.

Mode of access: Internet.

Pompeo Leoni Private Residential Project, Milan, Italy, 1992-1994 (unbuilt project)

[Conceptual Sketch], untitled. Blue ink sketch on "Specificare Se Interessa" memo paper, initialed, 4 x 7 3/4 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Pompeo Leoni Private Residential Project, Milan, Italy, 1992-1994 (unbuilt project)

[Conceptual Sketches], untitled. Three blue ink sketches on one sheet of "Hotel Cavour, Milano" letter paper, initialed, 7 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Pompeo Leoni Private Residential Project, Milan, Italy, 1992-1994 (unbuilt project)

[Conceptual Sketch of Elevation], untitled. Ink sketch with pencil coloring on electrostatic copy of facsimile print, 11x17 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Pompeo Leoni Private Residential Project, Milan, Italy, 1992-1994 (unbuilt project)

[Conceptual Sketches of Elevation and Roof Axonometric], untitled. Ink sketches on two facsimile prints, 8 1/2 x 17 1/4 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Pompeo Leoni Private Residential Project, Milan, Italy, 1992-1994 (unbuilt project)

[Conceptual Sketch of Elevation], untitled. Ink sketch with pencil coloring on tracing paper, initialed, 14 3/4 x 18 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]