The recent reform of local public services resulted in the establishment of an articulated structure based on separation of public functions. The article summarized herewith provides with economic tools to understand and operate within this new structure. Such reform is based on the general principle of the «separation of institutional duties», concerning ways of separating different functions: co-ordination and planning on one hand and service management on the other. The above reform also determines a vertically articulated diversification of activities based on technological criteria such as property of infrastructures, management of infrastructures and utility supply. The article demonstrates how such «technological separation» appears to be a convenient tool in achieving a more efficient «separation of institutional duties». In conclusion, the article underlines the difficulties in applying the principle of «technological separation » in several local public utilities.

Monica Passarelli, Paolo Peruzzi, Alessandro Petretto, in "ECONOMIA PUBBLICA " 6/2003, pp. , DOI: