Floriana Cerniglia, Riccarda Longaretti, Alberto Zanardi
{"title":"Dangerous liaisons across levels of government in an emergency","authors":"Floriana Cerniglia, Riccarda Longaretti, Alberto Zanardi","doi":"10.1007/s40888-024-00338-x","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this paper, we develop a theoretical model to evaluate the re-centralization of public procurement in an emergency under different collective choice mechanisms. We show that the equilibrium degree of centralization is the result of the interplay of three forces: (i) an “efficiency gain” effect, that works in favour of full centralization, since central government is likely to be more efficient than regional governments in purchasing goods on the market, and (ii) “dangerous liaisons” across levels of government, that work against centralization, because of (ii.a) the central government’s willingness to scapegoat failures on regional governments (“blame effect”), and (ii.b) the regional governments’ shame in delegating to the centre (“shame effect”). We have used the model to interpret the change in the governance of public procurement in Italy during the COVID-19 crisis. In fact, Italy, likewise many other countries around the world, responded to COVID-19 emergency with a mixed bag of centralized and decentralized measures that most likely reflected the particular ways in which politicians assumed blame and shame would work at different stages of the pandemic rather than their considerations on efficiency.</p>","PeriodicalId":44858,"journal":{"name":"Economia Politica","volume":"157 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Economia Politica","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40888-024-00338-x","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In this paper, we develop a theoretical model to evaluate the re-centralization of public procurement in an emergency under different collective choice mechanisms. We show that the equilibrium degree of centralization is the result of the interplay of three forces: (i) an “efficiency gain” effect, that works in favour of full centralization, since central government is likely to be more efficient than regional governments in purchasing goods on the market, and (ii) “dangerous liaisons” across levels of government, that work against centralization, because of (ii.a) the central government’s willingness to scapegoat failures on regional governments (“blame effect”), and (ii.b) the regional governments’ shame in delegating to the centre (“shame effect”). We have used the model to interpret the change in the governance of public procurement in Italy during the COVID-19 crisis. In fact, Italy, likewise many other countries around the world, responded to COVID-19 emergency with a mixed bag of centralized and decentralized measures that most likely reflected the particular ways in which politicians assumed blame and shame would work at different stages of the pandemic rather than their considerations on efficiency.
期刊介绍:
This journal publishes peer-reviewed articles that link theory and analysis in political economy, promoting a deeper understanding of economic realities and more effective courses of policy action. Established in 1984, the journal has kept pace with the times in disseminating high-quality and influential research aimed at establishing fruitful links between theories, approaches and institutions. With this relaunch (which combines Springer’s worldwide scientific scope with the Italian cultural roots of il Mulino and Fondazione Edison, whose research has been published by the two mentioned publishers for many years), the journal further reinforces its position in the European and international economic debate and scientific community. Furthermore, this move increases its pluralistic attention to the role that – at the micro, sectoral, and macro level – institutions and innovation play in the unfolding of economic change at different stages of development.