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Is competition able to counteract the inefficiency of corruption? The case of Italian public works

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  • Massimo Finocchiaro Castro

    (Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria)

  • Calogero Guccio

    (University of Catania)

  • Giacomo Pignataro

    (University of Catania)

  • Ilde Rizzo

    (University of Catania)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide an empirical test of the role of competition in procurement in reducing the effects of corruption. For this purpose, the paper examines whether competition is able to constrain the waste effects of corruption on the efficiency of execution of public works, building on the results provided by Finocchiaro Castro et al. Int Tax Pub Fin 21(4):813–843, (2014). For this purpose, a two-stage analysis is carried out. In the first stage, a non-parametric approach (data envelopment analysis—DEA) investigates the relative efficiency of each public work execution; in the second stage, the determinant factors of the variability of efficiency scores are investigated. Our results show that increasing competition reinforces the negative effects of environmental corruption on public works execution.

Suggested Citation

  • Massimo Finocchiaro Castro & Calogero Guccio & Giacomo Pignataro & Ilde Rizzo, 2018. "Is competition able to counteract the inefficiency of corruption? The case of Italian public works," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 45(1), pages 55-84, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:epolin:v:45:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s40812-017-0086-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s40812-017-0086-5
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    1. Dmitri Vinogradov & Elena Shadrina & Marina Doroshenko, 2018. "KIBS for public needs," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 45(4), pages 443-473, December.
    2. Massimo Finocchiaro Castroa & Calogero Guccio & Ilde Rizzo, 2023. "How 'one-size-fits-all' public works contract does it better? An assessment of infrastructure provision in Italy," Papers 2304.10776, arXiv.org.
    3. Finocchiaro Castro ,Massimo & Guccio, Calogero, 2023. "New wine in old bottle: Exploring the Corruption-inefficiency nexus using endogenous stochastic frontier approach," EconStor Preprints 275730, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    4. Massimo Finocchiaro Castro & Calogero Guccio, 2021. "Does greater discretion improve the performance in the execution of public works? Evidence from the reform of discretionary thresholds in Italy," Working papers 108, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    5. Lisciandra, Maurizio & Milani, Riccardo & Millemaci, Emanuele, 2022. "A corruption risk indicator for public procurement," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Marina Cavalieri & Calogero Guccio & Domenico Lisi & Ilde Rizzo, 2020. "Does Institutional Quality Matter for Infrastructure Provision? A Non-parametric Analysis for Italian Municipalities," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 6(3), pages 521-562, November.
    7. Wang, Shuhong & Zhao, Danqing & Chen, Hanxue, 2020. "Government corruption, resource misallocation, and ecological efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).

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