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The literature on Public Utilities has increasingly shown that the adoption of corporate governance tools for the management of public services in local policy-making has given rise to a considerable reshaping of political strategies and practices. Corporatisation should be understood as not merely a policy instrument, but also as a new opportunity for local politicians to adjust their preferences, to deal with various interests, and to build unusual coalitions. Corporatisation may (and does) influence the concrete operation of local political systems. Today, the boards of municipal enterprises, as well as the public–private partnerships stemming from this emerging tendency towards corporatisation, can be conceived as both actors of local policy-making and arenas in which a number of functions traditionally associated with the mechanisms of electoral representation are performed: inter- and intra-party bargaining, recruitment of élites, and negotiation with local and ‘external’ stakeholders. The paper illustrates the impact of corporatisation on local representation mechanisms in Italy, considering its opaque side with specific reference to the problem of democratic accountability and control, and the creation of new local oligarchies. Empirical evidence is provided from research on municipal enterprises in six different Italian regions. Statistical data on companies (amount of social capital, fields of activity, private and public shareholders, etc.), as well as qualitative data, are analysed in order to show how corporatisation has provided local actors with unusual (and often non-transparent) channels of political representation and public–private bargaining. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Local Government in Italy is invested by an ongoing process of «corporatization» of public services through the creation of a great number of private-law companies fully or partially owned by municipalities. This trend indicates the political significance of such companies because it represents a shift toward an innovative and unobtrusive milieu for policies and politics. Corporatization is consequently intended not merely as a policy instrument, but also as a new opportunity for local politicians to adjust their preferences, to deal with various interests and to build unusual coalitions. Thus, corporatization may (and does) influence the concrete working of local political democracy. The essay shows the political relevance of corporatization in local political systems based on empirical research on public utilities in six Italian regions. It draws on a dataset including data on 1.335 companies, as well as on qualitative data on the boards of six companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local Government in Italy is invested by an ongoing process of «corporatization» of public services through the creation of a great number of private-law companies fully or partially owned by municipalities. This trend indicates the political significance of such companies because it represents a shift toward an innovative and unobtrusive milieu for policies and politics. Corporatization is consequently intended not merely as a policy instrument, but also as a new opportunity for local politicians to adjust their preferences, to deal with various interests and to build unusual coalitions. Thus, corporatization may (and does) influence the concrete working of local political democracy. The essay shows the political relevance of corporatization in local political systems based on empirical research on public utilities in six Italian regions. It draws on a dataset including data on 1.335 companies, as well as on qualitative data on the boards of six companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vaccine hesitancy was defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019 as a major threat to global health. In Italy, reluctance to receive vaccines is a widespread phenomenon that was amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic by fear and mistrust in government. This study aims to depict different profiles and characteristics of people reluctant to vaccinate, focusing on the drivers of those who are in favor of and those who are opposed to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine., Methods: A sample of 10,000 Italian residents was collected. A survey on COVID-19 vaccination behavior and possible determinants of vaccine uptake, delay, and refusal was administered to participants through a computer-assisted web interviewing method., Results: In our sample, 83.2% stated that they were vaccinated as soon as possible ("vaccinators"), 8.0% delayed vaccination ("delayers"), and 6.7% refused to be vaccinated ("no-vaccinators"). In general, the results show that being female, aged between 25 and 64, with an education level less than a high school diploma or above a master's degree, and coming from a rural area were characteristics significantly associated with delaying or refusing COVID-19 vaccination. In addition, it was found that having minimal trust in science and/or government (i.e., 1 or 2 points on a scale from 1 to 10), using alternative medicine as the main source of treatment, and intention to vote for certain parties were characteristics associated with profiles of "delayers" or "no-vaccinators". Finally, the main reported motivation for delaying or not accepting vaccination was fear of vaccine side effects (55.0% among delayers, 55.6% among no-vaccinators)., Conclusion: In this study, three main profiles of those who chose to be vaccinated are described. Since those who are in favor of vaccines and those who are not usually cluster in similar sociodemographic categories, we argue that findings from this study might be useful to policy makers when shaping vaccine strategies and choosing policy instruments.