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Studies of the drivers of the decision to re-municipalize have increased recently, but research on its implementation is very scarce. We analyse how service characteristics and institutional factors influence the implementation of re-municipalization. For that purpose, we use an extensive database on re-municipalization decisions, and analyse the available data by means of logistic and negative binomial regressions. Strong network characteristics are associated with lower probabilities of implementation and longer implementation processes. Re-municipalization of personal services is more likely to be fully implemented and is finalized faster. Interestingly, after the great recession the probability of implementing reforms increased. more...

Des de finals dels anys vuitanta els sistemes educatius d'arreu del mon han experimentat reformes més o menys profundes orientades a promoure lògiques de mercat a diversos nivells educatius. Els processos de privatització educativa han captat l'interès d'investigadors, professionals i decisors polítics arreu del mon. El debat acadèmic entorn aquesta qüestió ha tingut molta vitalitat a nivell internacional en els darrers anys. En aquest treball presentem els principis i la teoria del canvi de les reformes de mercat, revisem les tendències més recents i les principals conceptualitzacions desenvolupades per la literatura acadèmica internacional, tot recollint la recerca existent en el context espanyol. Amb aquest estat de la qüestió, tanquem l'article identificant futures línies de recerca pel desenvolupament d'una agenda de d'investigació que assenyali les línies de prioritàries per aprofundir en la comprensió dels processos de privatització, així com la naturalesa dels mercats educatius en el context polític i social, dels Estats del sud d'Europa. more...

This paper studies the dynamics of concentration in the Spanish market for the provision of urban water service by private contract operators in the 2000–2020 period. The market is highly concentrated. Concentration increased until 2007, at which point it started to decline when Law 30/2007 on Public Sector Contracts and Organic Law 8/2007 on Political Party Financing were passed; before rising again from 2016 onwards. This latter trend results from strategic behaviour by the two leading operators, acquiring smaller companies with a notable presence in some regional markets. Further legislative reforms aimed at safeguarding space for competition are thus proposed. more...

Empirical evidence on remunicipalization remains scarce, and even more so as regards potential differences in the roles played by politicians and bureaucrats in service delivery reform. We use information obtained from a survey of Spanish municipalities to investigate differences in the service delivery preferences of politicians and technical staff, as well as differences in their respective propensities to reform. The results we obtain suggest that bureaucrats have both a stronger preference for private participation in service delivery and for reforming services than do politicians. more...

Re-municipalization is part of a broader set of reverse privatization reforms. We argue the term re-municipalization lacks conceptual clarity and often confuses municipal level reversals from national ones, new service delivery from reversals, and mixed market positions (such as corporatization) from full public control. This conceptual confusion makes measurement of re-municipalization difficult. While more case studies are being discovered, studies based on quantitative time series do not show re-municipalization as an increasing trend. Much case study based research argues re-municipalization is politically transformative, but quantitative research generally finds re-municipalization to be part of a pragmatic market management process, a position confirmed by the papers in this special issue. more...

Since the turn of the century, a global trend of re-municipalization has emerged, with cities reversing earlier privatizations and returning infrastructure and public service delivery to the public sector. The reversal of privatization measures is not an entirely new phenomenon. In the US, for example, returning public services to in-house production has been a long-standing feature of ‘pragmatic public management’. However, many cases of re-municipalization that have occurred since the early 2000s represent a distinctive shift from earlier privatization policies. High-profile cases in cities including Paris and Hamburg have thrust re-municipalization into the limelight as they have followed public campaigns motivated by dissatisfaction with the results of privatization and a desire to restore public control of vital services, such as water and energy. Just as the reform of public services towards privatization spawned a vast body of scholarship, the current re-municipalization phenomenon is increasingly attracting the attention of scholars from a number of disciplinary perspectives. The articles contained in this symposium contribute to this emerging literature. They address some of the burning issues relating to re-municipalization, but they also point to issues yet to be resolved and shed light on a research agenda that is still taking shape. more...

Los centros comerciales forman parte de los paisajes globales. Se han transformado en un signo territorial del consumo a escala planetaria y de la mercantilización y apropiación de los espacios públicos. El artículo tiene un objetivo doble: primero, la consideración de los centros comerciales como un paisaje urbano derivado de la globalización y, segundo, el análisis de la dicotomía entre espacios públicos y privados a través de estas áreas particulares de consumo. Es un estudio conceptual que recurre a una extensa revisión literaria científica, con más de 125 obras consultadas y con referencias a autores clave. Además, se ha realizado una práctica de observación. Los principales resultados demuestran que estos complejos son aparentemente públicos, pero con un control, diseño, estructura y finalidad privada basados en el lucro. Se han convertido en áreas de consumo de éxito global y en lugares de relación social. Estos paisajes globales actúan como sustitutos de los espacios públicos urbanos, calles y plazas, por un urbanismo comercial y privado. El artículo resulta de interés para los responsables políticos, los gestores privados de los centros comerciales y los académicos. Els centres comercials formen part dels paisatges globals. S'han transformat en un signe territorial del consum a escala planetària i de la mercantilització i apropiació dels espais públics. L'objectiu principal de l'article és analitzar el centre comercial com un paisatge global en la reconfiguració dels espais publicoprivats. És un estudi conceptual que recorre a una extensa revisió literària científica, amb més de 125 obres consultades i amb referències a autors clau. A més, s'ha portat a terme una pràctica d'observació. Els principals resultats demostren que aquests complexos són aparentment públics, però amb un control, disseny, estructura i finalitat privada basats en el lucre. S'han convertit en àrees de consum d'èxit global i en llocs de relació social. Aquests paisatges globals actuen com a substituts dels espais públics urbans, carrers i places, per un urbanisme comercial i privat. L'article és interessant per als responsables polítics, els gestors privats dels centres comercials i els acadèmics. Les centres commerciaux font partie des paysages mondiaux. Ils sont devenus un signe terri-torial de consommation à l'échelle planétaire ainsi que de commercialisation et d'appropriation des espaces publics. L'objectif principal de l'article est d'analyser le centre commercial en tant que paysage global dans la reconfiguration des espaces publics-théoriques. Il s'agit d'une étude conceptuelle qui utilise une vaste revue littéraire scientifique, avec plus de 125 ouvrages consultés et avec des références à des auteurs clés. De plus, une observation a été effectuée. Les principaux résultats montrent que ces complexes sont apparemment publics, mais avec un contrôle, une conception, une structure et un but privés basés sur le profit. Ils sont devenus des zones de consommation à succès mondial et des lieux d'interaction sociale. Ces paysages globaux se substituent aux espaces publics urbains, aux rues et aux places, à l'urbanisme commercial et privé. L'article intéresse les décideurs politiques, les gestionnaires privés de centres commerciaux et les universitaires. Shopping centres are part of what we call "Global Landscapes": common areas in the spatial model, brought about by globalization. They have become a sign of consumerism in a specific territory all over the planet and of commercialization and appropriation of public spaces. The aim of the present text is to analyse the concept of shopping spree as a global icon for the reconfiguration of theoretical public spaces. It is a conceptual study that uses an extensive scientific literary review, with more than 125 studies consulted and with references to key authors. In addition, an observation has been carried out. The most significant results presented here show that these premises are public in appearance, but there is control, design, structure, and private objectives that aim to obtain profit. Their tangible and intangible resources have made them areas for consumerism of worldwide success and a framework for social interaction. These global locations promote commercial and private urban development in replacement of public spaces, streets and squares. The article is of great interest for public managers, private agents in shopping centres, and academics. more...

El objetivo de este artículo no es ni el de analizar los recientes anuncios gubernamentales de privatización ni el de proporcionar unos criterios más o menos científicos que nos permitan valorar la bondad o la perversidad de tales procesos. Nuestro objetivo se centra más bién en intentar precisar el significado de un concepto eminentemente polisémico como el de privatización, presentar una propuesta de definición operativa, y observar algunas de las consecuencias de los procesos de privatización sobre la gestión y la organización de los servicios públicos. more...

Siguiendo el trabajo previo sobre la importancia que han tenido las redes sociales para la supervivencia económica y social del funcionariado de clase media latinoamericano y soviético, este artículo explora el papel de las redes sociales (las conexiones) en el proceso de privatización y liberalización del mercado en la Hungría post-comunista. Nos basamos en estudios académicos precedentes y en trabajo de campo desarrollado durante varios meses en Budapest para mostrar que las redes sociales son estructuras intermediarias centrales en las que los individuos y los grupos construyen soluciones que les permiten sobrellevar las deficiencias del sistema formal. Desde esta perspectiva, exploraremos la importancia de las conexiones entre gerentes durante el primer periodo de privatizaciones en Hungría, conocido como “privatización espontanea”., Following previous research on the significance that social networks have had for the economic and social survival of Latin American and Soviet state-employed middle classes, this paper explores the role of social networks (connections) on the process of privatization and market liberalization of Post-Communist Hungary. Based on former academic studies and on field research conducted for several months in Budapest, we will try to show that social networks are central intermediary structures on which individuals and groups construct solutions that allow them to cope with the deficiencies resulting from the formal system. From this perspective we will explore the importance of manager’s connections in the first period of the Hungarian privatization process known as “spontaneous privatization”. more...

Using information on price bids in wholesale electricity pools and empirical techniques described in the literature on electricity markets, this study identifies the market power mitigation effect of public firms in the Colombian market. The results suggest that while private firms exercise less market power than is predicted by a profit-maximization model, there are marked differences between private and public firms in their exercise of unilateral market power. These findings support the hypothesis of the market power mitigation effect of public firms. more...

Since the early 2000s, the terms ‘re-municipalization’ and ‘reverse privatization’ entered the lexicon as several examples emerged of governments taking ownership of assets and services that had previously been privatized or outsourced. Various methods are used to implement re-municipalization decisions and differences are observed across countries and sectors. The approaches most frequently adopted are re-municipalization through contract termination and contract expiration. We utilize a wide database of re-municipalizations worldwide to analyse the factors that influence governments’ choice between these two approaches. The results from our multivariate analysis find a pattern of historical recurrence in the characteristics of the current re-municipalization process. Points for practitioners Most governments wait for contracts to expire but the number of contract terminations is sizeable. Re-municipalization in larger cities, network sectors (particularly water) and implemented by municipal governments have a positive association with termination. Re-municipalization of energy utilities and conducted in countries of French legal origin is positively associated with contract expiration. Patterns of contemporary re-municipalization closely resemble those witnessed in the ‘Progressive Era’. more...

This paper empirically analyses the hypothesis of the existence of a dual market for contracts in local services. Large firms that operate on a national basis control the contracts for delivery in the most populated and/or urban municipalities, whereas small firms that operate at a local level have the contracts in the least populated and/or rural municipalities. The dual market implies the high concentration and dominance of major firms in large municipalities, and local monopolies in the smaller ones. This market structure is harmful to competition for the market as the effective number of competitors is low across all municipalities. Thus, it damages the likelihood of obtaining cost savings from privatization. more...

In this paper, we propose a mixed duopoly model in which the public company aims to maximize a weighted function of profits and a function of its production scale. We found that if the weight to the scale of production is high the public firms may exclude its rivals from the market (exercising predatory prices). We also find that the profit sacrifice by the public firm to get this exclusion is higher if there are marked differences between the cost efficiency of private and public firmS more...

In this paper I undertake a policy evaluation of the impact of the switch from public to private management of electricity generation units on their price bidding strategies. I draw on information about the bidding strategies of units in the Colombian electricity market to perform a double difference analysis. The evidence observed is coherent with theoretical behavioral predictions for profit maximizing agents facing short positions in forward contracts. more...

Public procurement is frequently used to contract solid waste collection services. Incomplete contracts and transaction costs increase the need for monitoring and supervision. In such cases, competition by comparison can be a useful tool. In Barcelona, solid waste collection is regulated by competition, with four delivery zones being contracted out separately. Therefore, it is possible to make relative performance assessments, especially in the areas where the contracted firms operate close to each other. Private firms anticipate stronger competitive pressures near to competitors' zones, even after the contract has been awarded, and they compete on quality. This research studies the influence of the proximity between competitors on the quality of service delivery. Monthly data on the number of complaints regarding waste collection in the city’s 73 neighborhoods between 2014 and 2019 is used to evaluate quality. Using count model approaches, our results show that higher quality is provided in neighborhoods closer to other neighborhoods served by a competing firm. Moreover, lower quality is delivered in peripheral neighborhoods, where comparison with competitors' neighborhoods is much harder, if at all possible. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that firms strategically manage quality performance and tend to deliver higher quality where they anticipate that monitoring by the regulator is easier. The findings add to the existing knowledge of competition as a regulatory tool used to obtain more information and providing useful insights to policymakers and regulators to better understand firms’ behavior in quality delivery. more...

Over the last two decades, Barcelona has implemented a far-reaching reform of the city’s solid waste collection. In 2000, the city was divided in four zones, with four separate solid waste collection contracts being awarded to private firms, with none being allowed to obtain more than two zones, a rule that was revised in 2009 to just one contract per firm. This division of the market via exclusive territories sought to enhance competition in the expectation of the convergence of relative costs, efficiency and service quality throughout the city. This study analyzes and evaluates the creation of lots as a tool of competition with monthly observations of costs and outputs between 2015 and 2019. Main findings are that firms producing in larger zones report higher costs, that increased competition was not sufficient to lead to converging costs, and that none of the firms operate under increasing returns to scale. Based on our results, we recommend creating an additional zone. We further suggest that if a public firm managed one of the zones, the regulator would obtain more reliable information on the service costs and technical characteristics, thus increasing her capabilities as supervisor of the private firms delivering the service in other zones. more...

La relación entre el sistema público de salud y el sistema privado suele abordarse bajo la denominación de colaboración público-privada en sanidad para referirse a las diferentes formas de compra, concesión o contratación de servicios privados por parte del sector público y la consiguiente externalización de su gestión. Según la última cuenta satélite del gasto sanitario público1, los conciertos con los centros sanitarios privados representaban en 2017 el 11,2% del gasto público. Este tema, centrado en la provisión de servicios, es el dominante en la literatura en nuestro país2-10, pero algunos autores también han tratado otras áreas de colaboración y fricción , como la formación continuada de profesionales sanitarios y la investigación en salud8, la utilización de proveedores públicos o privados en los casos de doble cobertura11 o el encaje de los seguros privados en los sistemas sanitarios públicos(...) more...

One area of public policy where rent-seeking and favoritism is relatively common is the contracting out of public services. Private firms can improve their chances of obtaining contracts by bribing politicians or public servants and funding political parties. In the same vein, firms can gain access to policymakers by hiring influential former politicians -a practice commonly referred to as revolving-doors. In this paper, we use information from 922 privatizations of water services in Spanish municipalities between 1984 and 2016 and multinomial logistic regression techniques to study the association between specific firms securing contracts and the political parties ruling the municipalities. We find robust statistical evidence of an association between the Popular Party (Partido Popular or PP) and the firm Aqualia, part of the large Spanish holding company Fomen-to de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), which is known to have funded the Popular Party. Furthermore, former PP politicians have been appointed to top positions in the FCC Board of Directors. However, this relationship weakened after the institutional reform of 2007 on public procurement and financing of political parties, which is em-pirically evaluated in this paper more...

Treballs Finals del Màster d'Economia, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2019-2020, Tutor: Germa Manel Bel Queralt, Both the formal introduction of Big Four into China and the privatization of Chinese state-owned enterprises started in the 1990s, but few scholars have studied the relationship between them. Theoretically, Big Four can provide more accurate information about the company’s value to the market through higher quality auditing services, which could reduce information asymmetry during the privatization process. On the other hand, Big Four could convey positive signals to the market by its own good reputation. Generally, SOEs that employ Big Four have better financial performance, which can boost the confidence of private investors. The paper will take A-share listed companies from 2005 to 2018 in China as the sample, select the enterprise ownership and state-owned shares proportion as the proxy variables to investigate whether Big Four has impacts on the privatization of Chinese SOEs. The principal hypothesis is that Big Four can significantly promote the privatization process of SOEs in China after controlling regional and time fixed effects. In addition, the longer the audit period of Big Four, the higher the probability of privatization and the lower the proportion of state-owned shares. more...

Over the last two decades, Barcelona has implemented a far-reaching reform of the city’s solid waste management. In 2000, the city was divided in four zones, with four separate solid waste collection contracts being awarded to private firms, with none being allowed to obtain more than two zones, a rule that was revised in 2009 to just one contract per firm. This division of the market via exclusive territories sought to enhance competition in the expectation of the convergence of relative costs, efficiency and service quality throughout the city. Based on monthly observations of costs and outputs between 2015 and 2018, this paper analyzes and evaluates the creation of lots as a tool of competition. We find that firms producing in larger zones report higher costs, that increased competition was not sufficient to lead to converging costs, and that none of the firms operate under increasing returns to scale. As such, we recommend creating an additional zone. We further suggest that if one of the zones were to be subject to public production, and adopted a mixed delivery provision strategy, the ability of the regulator to deal with asymmetric information would improve and a more reliable system could be created. more...

With the consolidation of the new data protection regulation paradigm for each individual within the European Union (EU), major biometric technologies are now confronted with many concerns related to user privacy in biometric deployments. When individual biometrics are disclosed, the sensitive information about his/her personal data such as financial or health are at high risk of being misused or compromised. This issue can be escalated considerably over scenarios of non-cooperative users, such as elderly people residing in care homes, with their inability to interact conveniently and securely with the biometric system. The primary goal of this study is to design a novel database to investigate the problem of automatic people recognition under privacy constraints. To do so, the collected data-set contains the subject&rsquo, s hand and foot traits and excludes the face biometrics of individuals in order to protect their privacy. We carried out extensive simulations using different baseline methods, including deep learning. Simulation results show that, with the spatial features extracted from the subject sequence in both individual hand or foot videos, state-of-the-art deep models provide promising recognition performance. more...

El trabajo que se presenta es fruto de una larga colaboración entre Carlos Barciela, Antonio di Vitorio e historiadores económicos espanoles e italianos que, desde 2001, llevan tendiendo puentes en diferentes ámbitos de la disciplina. El libro es producto del encuentro realizado en Catanzaro en octubre de 2015 donde se abordó la evolución de la industria de seguros en Italia e Espana. El volumen editado en 2016 recoge diversas aportaciones presentadas en dicho encuentro que recorren la evolución del sector a lo largo de casi 1000 anos. Nicola Ostuni realiza una presentación sintética de los trabajos del congreso y les da un orden para poner en diálogo unos con otros. De cualquier modo, todos los capítulos pueden leerse autónomamente y el conjunto permite, por una parte, hacerse una idea cabal del desarrollo del sector y, por otra, revisitar trabajos clásicos y ponerse al día de los trabajos más recientes. more...

En las últimas semanas estamos asistiendo a nuevos episodios de protesta por parte de los taxistas. Al igual que en los del verano pasado, el primer foco se ha situado en Barcelona y se ha propagado de inmediato a Madrid. Pero existen diferencias entre el escenario de julio de 2018 y el de la primeras semanas de 2019. La primera es que el destinatario de las manifestaciones ahora no es el Ministerio de Fomento, sino los gobiernos de Cataluña y Madrid. more...

In recent years there has been growing evidence of a reversal of earlier privatizations at the municipal level. We use data on over 800 cases of re-municipalization worldwide to examine propositions drawn from theory on the choice between public versus private sector delivery and policy implementation. We find that sectors with strong network characteristics are associated with lower probabilities of implementation. Also, it takes longer to implement re-municipalization policies in network sectors. On the other hand, re-municipalization is more likely to be implemented and implemented faster in the case of personal services including health and education. The results do not find that greater clarity about re-municipalization policy is associated with the level of implementation. There is some support for the hypothesis that the quality of government is positively associated with the probability of implementing policy but not the time taken to complete the task. However, other institutional factors such as legal traditions are found to be significant determinants of policy implementation and its finalization. The great recession was found to have increased the probability of implementing reforms and there is some evidence of faster implementation in the post-recession period. However, we fail to find evidence that policy implementation is more efficient over time and policy learning in this regard is not evident. more...

Inter-municipal cooperation is an important public service delivery reform, whose drivers move beyond simple concerns with costs and economic efficiency, to policy issues related to governance structure and spatial context. We conduct a meta-regression analysis based on the existing multivariate empirical literature to explore what factors explain divergence in results in the existing empirical studies. We find strong evidence that fiscal constraints, spatial, and organizational factors are significant drivers of cooperation. Our meta-regressions do not yield results to explain divergence in results on community wealth, economies of scale, or racial homogeneity. More studies on these factors are needed to understand how these factors might affect cooperation. Future theoretical and empirical research should give more attention to spatial and organizational factors to develop a better understanding of factors driving cooperation, and how they differ across local government structures and regions. more...

Unsatisfactory results from privatisation have caused local governments to seek alternative reforms. Inter-municipal cooperation, mixed public/private delivery and contract reversals are three alternatives that have gained traction in the last decade. These alternatives help local governments manage markets for public service delivery as a dynamic process. They maximise government/market complementarities and address a wider array of public goals beyond cost efficiency concerns. The alternative reforms show how local governments balance citizen, labour and community interests to ensure efficiency, coordination and stability in public service delivery. more...

La situació del gallec a Galícia i als territoris on tradicionalment es parla (Extremadura, Astúries i Castella i Lleó) no sembla haver experimentat canvis per la ratificació de la Carta europea de les llengües regionals o minoritàries (CELROM). La resistència o indiferència a les advertències dels successius informes per part de les autoritats internes estatals i autonòmiques sembla convertir l'interessant mecanisme d'avaluació en una d'infructuosacadena de repetitives indicacions amb poca transcendència en la modulació de les polítiques lingüístiques. La CELROM ha d'afrontar també el repte d'adaptar-se a fenòmens com la globalització, la societat digital i la privatització de els serveis públics, perquè una interpretació evolutiva de les seves previsions permeti una protecció conforme amb les necessitats del segle XXI., The situation of Galician both in Galicia and in the other territories where it was traditionally spoken (Extremadura, Asturias y Castilla y León) doesn’t seem to have changed because of the signing of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML). State and regional authorities resistance or indifference towards each of the monitoring reports, transform the interesting monitoring tool in a useless chain of repetitive recommendations with low influence over the scope of the language policies. The ECRML also has to prepare itself to adapt to globalization, the digital society and public services privatization so as an evolutionary interpretation can award protection according to XXI century needs., La ratificación de la Carta Europea de Lenguas Regionales o Minoritarias en 2001, abría una senda de reforzamiento del mandato constitucional de protección de las lenguas. Con respecto al gallego en una doble vertiente: como lengua protegida por los compromisos más elevados de la Parte III para el gallego en Galicia y como lengua tradicionalmente hablada protegida por los compromisos de la Parte II en Castilla y León, Asturias y Extremadura. A pesar de que algunos de los compromisos ratificados no eran especialmente exigentes para las lenguas con estatuto de oficialidad, lo cierto es que otros -singularmente los relativos a la educación y la administración de justicia- requerían claramente cambios en el régimen legal interno y en la organización administrativa[ El instrumento de ratificación que buscó un sistema de protección uniforme y elevado limitado a las lenguas oficiales probablemente desde la confianza de que la práctica totalidad de los compromisos iban a recaer en otros ámbitos (esencialmente en las Comunidades Autónomas), muestra pasados los años que incluso lenguas con un estatuto de cooficialidad no necesariamente cumplen las exigencias de la Carta. more...

La situación del gallego en Galicia y en los territorios donde tradicionalmente se habla (Extremadura, Asturias y Castilla y León) no parece haber experimentado cambios por la ratificación de la Carta Europea de las Lenguas Regionales o Minoritarias (CELROM). La resistencia o indiferencia a las advertencias de los sucesivos informes por parte de las autoridades internas estatales y autonómicas parece convertir el interesante mecanismo de evaluación en una infructuosa cadena de repetitivas indicaciones con poca trascendencia en la modulación de las políticas lingüísticas. La CELROM debe afrontar también el reto de adaptarse a fenómenos como la globalización, la sociedad digital y la privatización de los servicios públicos, para que una interpretación evolutiva de sus previsiones permita una protección acorde con las necesidades del siglo xxi The situation of Galician both in Galicia and in the other territories where it was traditionally spoken (Extremadura, Asturias y Castilla y León) doesn’t seem to have changed because of the signing of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML). State and regional authorities resistance or indifference towards each of the monitoring reports, transform the interesting monitoring tool in a useless chain of repetitive recommendations with low influence over the scope of the language policies. The ECRML also has to prepare itself to adapt to globalization, the digital society and public services privatization so as an evolutionary interpretation can award protection according to XXI century needs. La situació del gallec a Galícia i als territoris on tradicionalment es parla (Extremadura, Astúries i Castella i Lleó) no sembla haver experimentat canvis per la ratificació de la Carta europea de les llengües regionals o minoritàries (CELROM). La resistència o indiferència a les advertències dels successius informes per part de les autoritats internes estatals i autonòmiques sembla convertir l'interessant mecanisme d'avaluació en una d'infructuosa cadena de repetitives indicacions amb poca transcendència en la modulació de les polítiques lingüístiques. La CELROM ha d'afrontar també el repte d'adaptar-se a fenòmens com la globalització, la societat digital i la privatització de els serveis públics, perquè una interpretació evolutiva de les seves previsions permeti una protecció conforme amb les necessitats del segle XXI. SI more...

Efficiency gains in public–private partnerships (PPP) derive from risk transfer and the bundling of different tasks. We study the factors that explain bundling in single contracts. We focus on the choice between integrating operational tasks alone or construction tasks alone, versus vertically integrating both operational and construction tasks. We analyze a new data set that includes 553 PPPs that were concluded in the United States. We find evidence that some financial variables play a role in bundling decisions. In addition, market size and the type of economic sectors involved, are also important drivers of contract choice and bundling decisions. more...

Following the many failed private-sector management contracts in Latin America, the anti-privatisation campaigns have gradually risen in numbers and shifted their attention towards the Human Right to Water. Even before the UN’s resolution to make water a Human Right in 2010, some countries had already adopted it in their constitution. Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina are just three examples of such countries that implemented the Human Right to Water with different approaches. Nonetheless, these approaches have not yet been able to provide clean water to everybody and high prices, mismanagement and inefficiency are still very common. It is however important to also see the positive outcomes that these countries show. This thesis argues that while the Human Right to Water represents an important step towards guaranteeing safe, affordable and sustainable water for all, it will in itself not be enough to achieve this goal. This thesis first gives some theoretical background on the subject and will then study the different approaches of the three countries Uruguay, Argentina and Bolivia with respect to Human Right to Water. An analysis of these case studies aims finally at discussing the implications of this fundamental Human Right. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion more...

Scholarly empirical studies on factors that motivate local privatization have greatly grown in the last decade. As well, having available better and more comprehensive databases, and using more refined empirical techniques have made possible to enhance our understanding of the dynamics of local privatization, particularly in many European countries. The influence of fiscal stress, cost considerations - scale economies as well as transaction costs -, and political partisan interests is usually confirmed. Furthermore, ideological attitudes appear to be more influential than they seemed to be, particularly when considering social services, rather than the technical ones. more...

Aprincipios del siglo xx, la asistencia sanitaria pública en Espana se limitaba a una estrecha red de hospitales vinculados al sistema de beneficencia provincial y municipal. En cambio, en la actualidad la cobertura del sistema sanitario público es universal y Espana disfruta de una de las esperanzas de vida más altas del mundo. Este crecimiento de la asistencia sanitaria pública y el desarrollo del seguro público de salud es precisamente lo que analizan Jerònia Pons y Margarita Vilar en esta interesante y ambiciosa obra. Las autoras no se limitan, sin embargo, al estudio del sector público, sino que cubren también las formas de protección privada frente al riesgo de enfermedad, englobando entre otros la evolución de los seguros privados, el desarrollo de las mutuas de trabajadores desde el siglo xix, o los seguros que muchas empresas ofrecían a sus trabajadores. Se trata, por tanto, de un enfoque amplio a la vez que pretende analizar de forma integral las diferentes formas de lucha contra la enfermedad y sus consecuencias siguiendo el enfoque de la llamada economía mixta del bienestar. El límite temporal es igualmente comprehensivo, pues se analiza la cobertura contra el riesgo de enfermedad desde finales del siglo xix hasta la actualidad. Se trata, además, de un texto muy bien escrito y de fácil lectura, algo que siempre se agradece, siguiendo una estructura cronológica dividida en 4 capítulos. more...

This paper is a study on the outsourcing in the field of Public administration, specifically in the area of Environmental Administration. It analyzes the possible motivations that a public administration can have to entrust the management of drinking water and wastewater treatment services to a company from the private sector, as well as the consequences this may have. As a result of the study it is concluded that water is a human right, and therefore the public administration should manage it in the most direct way possible more...