Research Topics at Stake: Wrap-up

…from a post-dinner brainstorming

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The Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems - Galileo Galilei

Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo - 1632 - Firenze

This Galileo’s opera is well-known because it very much contributes to the starting of the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century.

The book is presented as a series of discussions comparing

Copernican system with the traditional Ptolemaic system, over a span of four days in Florence, among two philosophers and a layman.

In reporting this discussion Galileo is often referring to measurements

and data, highlighting their relevance to test qualitative theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to real phenomena.

As in that opera, we are in Florence having a witty debate among

different actors. And measurements & data comes up as one main concern.

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Data collection •  What incentives to transmit truthfully information?

–  Short & long run

•  Interest in and methodology to approach an international benchmarking? –  Services for metropolitan areas as a first step –  IB-NET –  …

•  Transparency target? •  Quality performance indicators •  Other indicators •  Natural experiments (randomized trial) and lab

exp.

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Investment •  What stick and carrot incentives?

– Quality – Efficiency – Network maintenance –  In the last period of the concession contract

•  How do you check and make operators report truthfully their investments?

•  How the regulator may use “menu of contracts” to make operators reveal their information? 5

Regionalization & Scale

•  Scale economies? (regulators and IGOs) •  Scale and cost of regulation?

–  “Multi-governance” levels? (OECD 2011) – Multi-utility regulation?

•  Political economy issues? – Local level capture issues? – Tariffs and investments according to full

recovery principle 6

Soft vs. hard regulation?

•  Functions/Powers of water regulators

•  Centralized vs. decentralized regulation

•  Coordination mechanisms among different levels of regulation (OCSE)

•  Sunshine vs. yardstick vs. mandatory rule

•  Is benchmarking an interesting approach for this sectoral regulation? 7

Multi-sectorial analysis

•  Could we learn something from others regulated services (i.e. energy; transport, etc.)? –  Investment – Data collection – Optimal size – Affordability and tariffs’ structure – …

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