Il servizio idrico in Italia: un’analisi empirica sull’efficienza dei gestori [The water service in Italy: an empirical analysis about cost efficiency]

In this paper we investigate the existence of the economies of scale and density in the Italian water sector, in the period 2005-2007. For this purpose, given the current developments of the reform introduced by the Galli Law, we review the main studies on the cost variables and on the evidence of economies of scale and density in this sector. Considering a sample of thirty water firms, through the use of descriptive statistics we find the values of the most important variables used to study efficiency and productivity, such as the average labour cost per employee and the Km of network per user. The econometric analysis on efficiency is conducted by using the SURE method in the estimate of a TransLog variable cost function. The results show evidence of economies of scale and density in the short and in the long run. The small-medium firms display significant economies, whereas, as size increases, benefits from scale gradually decline until they turn to diseconomies of scale for companies serving a population of more than 500000.Water sector, Efficiency, Economies of scale, Economies of density, SURE method

Il servizio idrico in Italia: un'analisi empirica sull'efficienza dei gestori [The water service in Italy: an empirical analysis about cost efficiency]

WP 02/2010; In this paper we investigate the existence of the economies of scale and density in the Italian water sector, in the period 2005-2007. For this purpose, given the current developments of the reform introduced by the Galli Law, we review the main studies on the cost variables and on the evidence of economies of scale and density in this sector. Considering a sample of thirty water firms, through the use of descriptive statistics we find the values of the most important variables used to study efficiency and productivity, such as the average labour cost per employee and the Km of network per user. The econometric analysis on efficiency is conducted by using the SURE method in the estimate of a TransLog variable cost function. The results show evidence of economies of scale and density in the short and in the long run. The small-medium firms display significant economies, whereas, as size increases, benefits from scale gradually decline until they turn to diseconomies of scale for companies serving a population of more than 500000

An empirical analysis of efficiency in the Italian water service

The following empirical work examines the impact of a potential restructuring of the Italian water industry, considering a sample of 37 companies and 22 contiguous hypothetical mergers providing water in Italy from 2005 to 2009. With particular attention to the water industry cost efficiency is analyzed by using a parametric methodology: a Translog cost function has been estimated through the SURE model, in order to evaluate the behaviour of returns to scale. Small companies seem to benefit of economies of scale, while the biggest operators encounter diseconomies of scale. Focusing thus on a hypothetical consolidation of the sector, for a sample of 22 contiguous mergers, we apply the not-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in Bogetoft and Wang (2005), corrected for the bias through bootstrapping, to examine the potential efficiency gains from mergers. By decomposing the merger gains into a technical effect, a harmony effect and a scale effect, the results show – on average - high efficiency improvement potentials and relevant scale economies for small mergers. The lowest size to have diseconomies of scale is almost similar in the two applications (45930 users for DEA-VRS bias-corrected model, 37000 users for the Translog cost function estimate for 37 Italian water companies)

Efficiency in the Consolidation of the Italian Water Sector

Despite since the mid-90s the regulation has encouraged horizontal and vertical bundling, the Italian water and sewerage industry is still largely fragmented. This work investigates the potential benefits of the process of consolidation, relying on realistic ex-ante merger hypotheses. A parametric methodology is used to implement the Bogetoft and Wang 2005\u2019s decomposition of potential gains from mergers (J Prod Anal 23:145\u2013171). When looking at strictly technological aspects, results do not provide univocal evidence in favor or against merger strategies, recommending a case-by-case approach in evaluating real merger projects. Moreover, the largest potential gains are due to managerial rather than technological inefficiency, thus their effective ex-post attainment ultimately depend on the ability to tackle the change and on political will

MEN 11270, a novel selective constrained peptide antagonist with high affinity at the human B-2 kinin receptor

We investigated the pharmacological profile of MEN 11270, or H-D-Arg-Arg-Pro-Hyp-Gly-Thi-c(Dab-DTic-Oic-Arg)c(7gamma-10 alpha), a conformationally constrained derivative of the B2 kinin receptor antagonist Icatibant. MEN 11270 bound with high-affinity to the B2 kinin receptor constitutively expressed by WI38 human fibroblasts, inhibiting 3H-bradykinin (BK) with a pKi value of 10.3 +/- 0.08 (n = 5). The rank order of affinity of several peptide and nonpeptide antagonists was also assessed: Icatibant (pKi = 10.6) approximately MEN 11270 (pKi = 10.3) approximately B9430 (pKi = 10.0) > B9858 (pKi = 8.0) > FR173657 (pKi = 7.6) > WIN64338 (pKi = 7.2) > Lys-[des-Arg9, Leu8]-BK (pKi [des-Arg9,Leu8]-BK (pKi < 5). MEN 11270 showed a low affinity in inhibiting 3H-Lys-[des-Arg9]-BK binding at the human B1 kinin receptor constitutively expressed by the same cells (pKi 6.0 +/- 0.33; n = 3). MEN 11270 showed no binding affinity (pIC50 < 5.5) at 29 different receptors and ion channels. In the human umbilical vein contraction assay, MEN 11270, shifted the concentration-response curve to BK to the right in a concentration-dependent manner (pA2 8.14 +/- 0.22, n = 7). The Schild plot was linear (slope 0.95 +/- 0.11), consistent with a competitive antagonism. In the same bioassay, MEN 11270 (10 microM) did not affect the concentration-response curve to the B1 agonist Lys-[des-Arg9]-BK nor the contractile responses elicited by noradrenaline or serotonin. These findings indicate MEN 11270 as an antagonist at the human B2 kinin receptor, with potency and selectivity comparable to those of the linear peptide antagonist, supporting the hypothesis that a constrained C-terminal beta-turn conformation preserves a high affinity for the interaction of Icatibant with the B2 kinin receptor