On the many Ways Europeanization Matters: The Implementation of the Water Reform in Italy (1994-2006)

The research agenda of Europeanization is currently highly focused on issued related to what accounts for the 'horizontal' interaction between domestic actors and how these actors make use of stimuli originating from the EU. This paper aims to contribute to this line of inquiry through the case study of the implementation of the 1994 water reform in Italy in the period between 1994 and 2006. The analysis shows the role played by the use of monetary incentives provided by EU funding sources, by changes in the institutional context partially originating from EU factors, and by the rulings of the European Court of Justice.regulatory reform, public policy implementation, Europeanization, water sector, Italy

Implementing regulatory reforms in multi-level governance systems: the case of the reform of the water sector in Italy (1994-2006)

Within the field of regulation policy and politics, various scholarly works have examined policy reforms intended to change the regulation of large-scale infrastructure-based public service industries. Relatively little attention has been placed, however, on the jagged and ineffectual implementation of regulatory reforms that especially takes place when the implementation context includes features of a multi-level governance system. For reasons especially related to the technical, economic, and territorial characteristics of infrastructure and sub-national governments' political responsibilities towards local communities, within this type of scenario the implementation of regulatory reforms tends to exhibit high levels of political confrontation between actors of the reformed infrastructure industry, with respect to what is ordinarily experienced when a regulatory reform is implemented by public agencies or any body of the executive at the central level. This thesis aims to contribute furthering our understanding of the political economy of implementing regulatory reforms by conducting an exploratory case study whose episode is the implementation stage of the 12 year long (1994-2006) policy cycle to liberalise, re-regulate, and privatise Italy’s (drinking water and waste) water sector. The main explanatory issues at stake relate to why the implementation trajectory changed over time (i.e., a period of obstructed implementation was followed by one of accelerated execution of the policy reform content) and across space (i.e., implementation progressed faster in Alto Valdarno in Tuscany than elsewhere in the country). The analysis of the case is conducted by following two alternative theoretical approaches in turn, namely institutional rational choice and institutional processualism. Answers to these questions provide some evidence for qualifying existing generalised arguments about the policy. process of implementing regulatory reforms and for assessing the relative strengths and weaknesses of alternative theoretical perspectives

Managing Challenging Organizational Change: Introducing Active Labor Market Policies in Italian Public Employment Agencies

Managing organizational change in the public sector is extremely challenging when adverse conditions hamper the introduction of novel organizational practices. This study builds on the case of the implementation of active labor market policies in in Italy, in an attempt to help explaining the process of managing organizational change in the public sector. The case study shows how, despite contrary conditions that originate from the political context, the interplay between designed policy interventions, initial conditions, and features of the policy process can result in effective change of employment service practices

Aligning technological and institutional change: maritime transport in West Mediterranean Sea

Within the area of study of infrastructure, various works have addressed the issue of the development of technological and institutional systems of network industries. In a dynamic perspective, issues arise about how technology and institutions co-evolve, what stimulates improvement of infrastructure performance, and how formal institutions should be designed in order to facilitate technological and institutional co-evolution. Building on the coherence framework for performance in network industries, this study aims to contribute to the development of an improved theory of technological and institutional change in network industries. The theoretical developments are illustrated through the case of technological and institutional changes of the maritime transport industry in West Mediterranean Sea. The results suggest that more attention should be placed on the variety of private and public dimensions of performance of the network industry and by the mutual interaction between status quo conditions in the technological and institutional systems

Uncertainty, institutions and regulatory responses to emerging technologies: CRISPR Gene editing in the US and the EU (2012–2019)

This study aims to improve theoretical accounts of regulatory responses to emerging technologies by proposing a model of regulatory development, which incorporates a role for types of uncertainty and for existing regulatory institutions. Differently from existing theories of regulatory development, the model proposed here posits a sequence of cyclical activities where regulatory responses arise in incremental fashion out of efforts to make sense of emerging technologies and to ponder the applicability of existing regulatory tools. The model is discussed on the basis of the comparison between regulatory responses to the emergence of CRISPR gene editing in the US and the EU in the period 2012–2019. The comparison between the two cases suggests how regulatory responses to emerging technologies are affected by expectations of future technological and regulatory developments and by existing regulatory institutions

A Bibliometric Analysis of Research on CRISPR in Social Sciences and Humanities

The rise of CRISPR not only opens up multiple opportunities for genetic editing but also results in potentially threatening or controversial applications. Research needs to be done in order to appreciate how CRISPR affects the identity and role of individuals within society and reshapes social, political, and economic regimes. A bibliometric analysis of articles on CRISPR published in academic journals in the period 2012-2020 helps identify the main research themes on genome editing that have been addressed in social sciences and humanities so far. Results suggest that CRISPR studies have primarily focused on normative and ethical issues, together with more specific attention toward issues of public perception, trust toward science, regulation and governance of critical applications, and, especially, around the manipulation of the genome of human embryos. Results also suggest that issues of commercial, cultural, and geopolitical sorts have been left relatively unattended so far, instead. Attention to the implications of CRIRPS on such areas should inform the future social sciences and humanities research agenda on genome editing

The Role of Externalities and Uncertainty in Policy Design: Evidence from the Regulation of Genome Editing

Externalities and uncertainty play an important role in the design of regulatory policies. Regulatory tools must be selected while taking into consideration the side-effects that regulated products or services have on other individuals and on the environment. This study investigates the externalities and uncertainty that arise from the use of genome editing (with specific reference to CRISPR technique) and how they relate to regulatory policy design choices. Building on evidence from genome editing regulation and on the NATO (Nodality, Authority, Treasure and Organization) policy tools framework, this study argues that a mix of regulatory tools is required to tackle externalities of genome editing applications and to cope with sources of uncertainty about their beneficial, neutral and harmful side-effects. The study provides some recommendations to policy-makers about reducing uncertainty, diversifying regulatory tools over time, and communicating to the public about features of genetically edited products

Understanding Subjectivities in the Regulation of Local Water Services: A Q Methodology Study of Elected Public Officers in Italy

In sub-national governments, elected public officers can exercise considerable influence on the regulation of local water services, in such ways as, for example, contributing to the design of local regulatory institutions, to the formulation of tariff rules, and to the supervision of water firms. Relatively little we know, however, about how elected public officers think about the regulation of local water services. This Q methodology study provides some evidence of the variety of opinions held on how local water services are delivered, how well they perform, and how they should be regulated among elected public officers in local governments in Italy. The study shows that the policy discourse on water regulation in Italy is highly fragmented into alternative and partially conflicting views. These findings bear some relevance for better understanding sources of stability and change of water regulatory regimes at the local level