Relazione sulla ricerca

Ruolo di Uninettuno

Il gruppo di ricerca presso UNINETTUNO si occupa in particolar modo della individuazione dei diritti, degli obblighi e delle responsabilità dello Stato colpito dal disastro nonché diritti fondamentali delle vittime.

Partecipazione del personale Uninettuno

Flavia Zorzi Giustiniani

Alice Riccardi

The problem of the "optimal size" for the local governments of wide areas

Istituzioni partecipanti nazionali internazionali

UNINETTUNO

Finanziamento

Partecipazione al bando SIR – In attesa che si concluda la procedura di valutazione

Partecipanti

Federica Fabrizzi (UNINETTUNO)

Descrizione

The experience of the last twenty years in Italy has showed the difficulties in the functioning of local system of government when looking for an "optimal size" and leaving aside the provincial constituency: the experience of ATO (Ambiti Territoriali Ottimali) shows clearly that in no region it has been possible to leave aside the provincial constituency.

Even before the raise of the Republic, italian administrative system was structured on territorial base in provinces, whose main feature is to be at the same time local authority and constituency of statal decentralization. This hybrid nature has developed and accentuated the provincial identity in Italy. In fact, most of social and political activities of the country are organized on a provincial base (trade unions, chambers of commerce, political parties…), and also the local and national electoral systems and the State territorial presence (prefects, superintendences) follow this scheme.

The burgeoning growth of laws and the permanent debate on elimination of provinces, ti be replaced with the creation of metropolitan cities and the amalgamation of municipalities require, inevitably, A theoretical reflection, serious and thoughtful, about what is the '"wide area", which are the fundamental functions to be assigned to this level of government, and whether there is an "optimal size" for the governance of these functions, both from the economic and the institutional point of view. In fact, since today, studies on the subject of "optimal size" been focused primarily, if not exclusively, on the municipalities, and the problem of their excessive fragmentation and their high number. There are no studies that have explored these aspects from the point of view of the intermediate level, then the provinces, maybe because it's believed, mistakenly, that the exercise associated of the functions by the municipalities is the solution of the problem. But municipal functions, even if carried out in association, differ from the wide area functions.

In addition, the issue of the "optimal size" has been always studied only when referring to economical data, and instead it is clear that it must be tackled holding together several components, economic, social, geographical, political, institutional.

So, the objective of the proposal is to study if, instead of their elimination, the italian provinces - also with some adjustments to the current boundaries and creation of some metropolitan areas (no more than 3 or 4) that are equipped with special tools for the governance of territory - may become the "minimum effective operating system" for the public services.