Water, Sanitation and Intergovernmental Relations in Italy after WWII: A Case Study on Milan's Water and Sanitation Service

This paper focuses on the case of Milan's water and sanitation service in the second half of the 20th century, in the wider legislative and regulatory context of Italian Water and Sanitation Services (WSS). We discuss the evolution of intergovernmental financial relations in Italy. We also analyze the water and sanitation regulatory context, the financing tools available and the constraint on water prices due to national regulation driven by anti-inflation policies. We look into Milan's water sanitation service focusing on three key issues: a) how were public service mission goals implemented? b) Were the costs covered by revenues endogenous or exogenous to the water and sanitation service? And c) what is the long run cost allocation? Who did pay in fine for the infrastructure? Our analysis is based on an original dataset collected from the yearly financial report of Milan's municipality.