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Improving efficiency in the MSW collection and disposal service combining price cap and yardstick regulation: The Italian case

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  • Di Foggia, Giacomo
  • Beccarello, Massimo

Abstract

The municipal solid waste collection and disposal service is a key element of the European strategy aimed at moving towards a circular economy. An efficient municipal solid waste collection and disposal is closely related to both lower waste tax and higher welfare of the interested population. In Italy, the lack of a centralized regulatory framework has determined heterogeneous performances of sector operators across the country. Firstly, we will be estimating the productive efficiency in different optimal territorial areas and secondly we will be forecasting the economic benefits that would arise under a new regulatory regime. Our approach combines the well-known yardstick competition and the price-cap mechanisms. Results suggest that if all territorial areas converged to the most efficient ones, a potential saving between 12% and 19% emerges, i.e., up to €2bn savings out of €10.05bn total tax revenue in 2015.

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  • Di Foggia, Giacomo & Beccarello, Massimo, 2018. "Improving efficiency in the MSW collection and disposal service combining price cap and yardstick regulation: The Italian case," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 79, pages 223-231.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:228842
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    Cited by:

    1. Di Foggia, Giacomo & Beccarello, Massimo, 2021. "Drivers of municipal solid waste management cost based on cost models inherent to sorted and unsorted waste," SocArXiv s6q3m, Center for Open Science.
    2. Massimo Beccarello & Giacomo Di Foggia, 2023. "Efficient scale and scope of business models used in municipal solid waste management," European Journal of Management and Business Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(4), pages 492-508, April.
    3. Di Foggia, Giacomo, 2021. "Energy-Efficient Products and Competitiveness in the Manufacturing Sector," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 7(1).
    4. Agovino, Massimiliano & Cerciello, Massimiliano & Javed, Aamir & Rapposelli, Agnese, 2023. "Environmental legislation and waste management efficiency in Italian regions in view of circular economy goals," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    5. Beccarello, Massimo & Di Foggia, Giacomo, 2023. "Defining the Organization of Municipal Solid Waste Management Based on Production Costs," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 7(2), pages 1-15.
    6. Paula Llanquileo-Melgarejo & María Molinos-Senante & Giulia Romano & Laura Carosi, 2021. "Evaluation of the Impact of Separative Collection and Recycling of Municipal Solid Waste on Performance: An Empirical Application for Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    7. Giovanni Gadaleta & Sabino De Gisi & Michele Notarnicola, 2021. "Feasibility Analysis on the Adoption of Decentralized Anaerobic Co-Digestion for the Treatment of Municipal Organic Waste with Energy Recovery in Urban Districts of Metropolitan Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-17, February.
    8. Di Foggia, Giacomo & Beccarello, Massimo, 2023. "Designing circular economy-compliant municipal solid waste management charging schemes," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    9. Maria Assunta Barchiesi & Roberta Costa & Francesca Di Pillo, 2022. "The Link between the Compliance with Environmental Legislation on Separate Collection and the Municipal Solid Waste Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-13, May.
    10. Di Foggia, Giacomo, 2018. "Energy efficiency measures in buildings for achieving sustainable development goals," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 4(11).
    11. Di Foggia, Giacomo & Beccarello, Massimo, 2020. "The impact of a gain-sharing cost-reflective tariff on waste management cost under incentive regulation: The Italian case," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 265.
    12. Ishmael Onungwe & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Ian Jefferson, 2023. "Transition and Implementation of Circular Economy in Municipal Solid Waste Management System in Nigeria: A Systematic Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-26, August.
    13. Giacomo Di Foggia & Massimo Beccarello, 2021. "Market Structure of Urban Waste Treatment and Disposal: Empirical Evidence from the Italian Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-12, July.
    14. Maria Molinos-Senante & Alexandros Maziotis, 2021. "The Cost of Reducing Municipal Unsorted Solid Waste: Evidence from Municipalities in Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-14, June.
    15. Salehi-Amiri, Amirhossein & Akbapour, Navid & Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, Mostafa & Gajpal, Yuvraj & Jabbarzadeh, Armin, 2022. "Designing an effective two-stage, sustainable, and IoT based waste management system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    16. Llanquileo-Melgarejo, Paula & Molinos-Senante, María, 2022. "Assessing eco-productivity change in Chilean municipal solid waste services," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    17. lo Storto, Corrado, 2024. "Measuring the eco-efficiency of municipal solid waste service: A fuzzy DEA model for handling missing data," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    18. Antonio Massarutto, 2019. "Italian waste in the circular economy: A agenda for industry regulators in Italy," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(1), pages 9-48.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    waste tax; yardstick competition; MSW; price cap; waste management; Efficiency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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