Massimo Florio

After briefly reviewing the received doctrine prior to the waves of privatisations beginning in the 1980s, this Element offers a survey of various analytical frameworks on State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) from the perspective of applied welfare economics. The focus then shifts to a positive analysis of the comparative performance of private versus public enterprises, with a specific emphasis on SOEs in developed market economies over the past two decades; key metrics examined include profitability, productivity, internationalisation, innovativeness, and environmental sustainability. The Element also addresses empirical methodological issues, alongside contextual conditions and institutional factors that help explain the outcomes. It reviews selected contributions from public economics, industrial organisation, corporate governance, management studies and other social sciences. Overall, the Element aims to redefine a neglected research area in public economics, considering the new circumstances of the twenty-first century, where SOEs compete with other firms in developed market economies.

After briefly reviewing the received doctrine prior to the waves of privatisations beginning in the 1980s, this Element offers a survey of various analytical frameworks on State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) from the perspective of applied welfare economics. The focus then shifts to a positive analysis of the comparative performance of private versus public enterprises, with a specific emphasis on SOEs in developed market economies over the past two decades; key metrics examined include profitability, productivity, internationalisation, innovativeness, and environmental sustainability. The Element also addresses empirical methodological issues, alongside contextual conditions and institutional factors that help explain the outcomes. It reviews selected contributions from public economics, industrial organisation, corporate governance, management studies and other social sciences. Overall, the Element aims to redefine a neglected research area in public economics, considering the new circumstances of the twenty-first century, where SOEs compete with other firms in developed market economies.

This book deals with the emergence of intellectual monopolies. It explores different ways of producing knowledge, thus showing alternatives to the current dominant paradigm which is based on turning knowledge produced collectively into intangible assets, owned by a few leading corporations. It discusses a paradox: knowledge creation by government-sponsored research infrastructures (RI) or by non-profit institutions, including universities, is increasingly appearing in the form of "open science" - ideas and data are widely available in the public domain. However, such knowledge is privatised downstream by new oligopolies. These oligopolies, such as the Tech Giants, are protected by legislation on intellectual property rights that restricts further access to knowledge. This process contributes to increasing social inequality. The book suggests alternative policy options to counteract this process: the design of new players with a public mission and a coalition of governments as patient investors for the long-term benefit not just of the citizens of one jurisdiction but for creating global public goods. Proposals are presented for launching European R&D infrastructures related to three major long-term challenges: health risks, climate change and Big Data governance. These knowledge-intensive enterprises should offer innovation as a public good, for example in new biomedical fields underinvested by private firms, disruptive ‘green’ technologies, digital platforms based on transparent users’ ownership of data. Offering a balanced combination of theories and practical applications including interesting case studies, the book will appeal to students, scholars and researchers of public economics and governance. It will also find an audience among policymakers, practitioners and government officials.

This book deals with the emergence of intellectual monopolies. It explores different ways of producing knowledge, thus showing alternatives to the current dominant paradigm which is based on turning knowledge produced collectively into intangible assets, owned by a few leading corporations. It discusses a paradox: knowledge creation by government-sponsored research infrastructures (RI) or by non-profit institutions, including universities, is increasingly appearing in the form of "open science" - ideas and data are widely available in the public domain. However, such knowledge is privatised downstream by new oligopolies. These oligopolies, such as the Tech Giants, are protected by legislation on intellectual property rights that restricts further access to knowledge. This process contributes to increasing social inequality. The book suggests alternative policy options to counteract this process: the design of new players with a public mission and a coalition of governments as patient investors for the long-term benefit not just of the citizens of one jurisdiction but for creating global public goods. Proposals are presented for launching European R&D infrastructures related to three major long-term challenges: health risks, climate change and Big Data governance. These knowledge-intensive enterprises should offer innovation as a public good, for example in new biomedical fields underinvested by private firms, disruptive ‘green’ technologies, digital platforms based on transparent users’ ownership of data. Offering a balanced combination of theories and practical applications including interesting case studies, the book will appeal to students, scholars and researchers of public economics and governance. It will also find an audience among policymakers, practitioners and government officials.

Applied Welfare Economics: Cost-Benefit Analysis for Project and Policy Evaluation presents a consistent framework for applied welfare economics and is grounded in a comprehensive theory of cost-benefit analysis, specifically focused on offering a practical approach to policy and project evaluation. After opening with a theoretical discussion of the concept of social welfare, a critical analysis of the traditional doctrine of welfare economics embodied in the Two Fundamental Theorems, and a presentation of social cost-benefit analysis, the book introduces readers to an applied framework. This includes the empirical estimation of shadow prices of goods, the social cost of labour and capital, and the assessment of risk. The book also examines real-life experiences with cost-benefit analysis, including ex-post evaluation of major projects, economic rates of return in different sectors, and a case study on privatisation. These chapters draw on first-hand research gained by the author team from years of advisory work for the European Commission and other international and national institutions. This second edition presents updated data, more international examples, and more coverage of topics such as very long run discounting effects and climate change as an intergenerational effect. It also includes more practical examples and end-of-chapter questions to aid student’s learning. Applied Welfare Economics is a valuable textbook for upper-level courses on welfare economics, cost-benefit analysis, public policy analysis and related areas.

Applied Welfare Economics: Cost-Benefit Analysis for Project and Policy Evaluation presents a consistent framework for applied welfare economics and is grounded in a comprehensive theory of cost-benefit analysis, specifically focused on offering a practical approach to policy and project evaluation. After opening with a theoretical discussion of the concept of social welfare, a critical analysis of the traditional doctrine of welfare economics embodied in the Two Fundamental Theorems, and a presentation of social cost-benefit analysis, the book introduces readers to an applied framework. This includes the empirical estimation of shadow prices of goods, the social cost of labour and capital, and the assessment of risk. The book also examines real-life experiences with cost-benefit analysis, including ex-post evaluation of major projects, economic rates of return in different sectors, and a case study on privatisation. These chapters draw on first-hand research gained by the author team from years of advisory work for the European Commission and other international and national institutions. This second edition presents updated data, more international examples, and more coverage of topics such as very long run discounting effects and climate change as an intergenerational effect. It also includes more practical examples and end-of-chapter questions to aid student’s learning. Applied Welfare Economics is a valuable textbook for upper-level courses on welfare economics, cost-benefit analysis, public policy analysis and related areas.

A proposal for using cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of public investment in large scientific projects.Large particle accelerators, outer space probes, genomics platforms: all are scientific enterprises managed through the new form of the research infrastructure, in which communities of scientists collaborate across nations, universities, research institutions, and disciplines. Such large projects are often publicly funded, with no accepted way to measure the benefits to society of these investments. In this book, Massimo Florio suggests the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of public investment in large and costly scientific projects.The core concept of CBA of any infrastructure is to undertake the consistent intertemporal accounting of social welfare effects using the available information. Florio develops a simple framework for such accounting in the research infrastructure context and then offers a systematic analysis of the benefits in terms of the social agents involved. He measures the benefits to scientists, students, and postdoctoral researchers; the effect on firms of knowledge spillovers; the benefits to users of information technology and science-based innovation; the welfare effects on the general public of cultural services provided by RIs; and the willingness of taxpayers to fund scientific knowledge creation. Finally, Florio shows how these costs and benefits can be expressed in the form of stochastic net present value and other summary indicators.

A dramatic change of ownership, regulation, and organisation of essential public services, such as electricity, gas, and telecommunications, has taken place in Europe in less than 20 years. This was not the outcome of spontaneous adaptation, but an entirely top-down policy experiment, mainly conceived in London during Mrs Thatcher's years, then pursued in Brussels - the 'capital' of the European Union - and imposed on more or less reluctant players by laws, directives, regulations, and administrative and judicial decisions. The European reform paradigm revolves around three pillars: privatisation, unbundling, and regulated liberalisation of network industries. These industries, despite the reforms, are still special, as they include core natural monopoly components (the electricity grid, the gas pipelines, the telephony networks, etc.), are often based on complex system integration of different segments (for example of electricity generation, transmission, distribution and retail supply), and offer services that have critical social and economic importance, from heating to internet. This book offers a careful scrutiny of energy and telephony reforms and prices paid by households in 15 countries across Western Europe. It attempts to answer such questions as: Are the consumers in Europe happier than they were before the reforms? Do they pay less? Do they get a better quality for the services? Network Industries and Social Welfare provides an overview of the main facts, the conceptual issues, and of the empirical evidence on pricing, perceptions of quality of service, and the issues of utility poverty and social affordability. It suggests that the benefits of the reforms for the consumers have often been limited and that governments should reconsider their overconfidence in regulated market mechanisms in network industries.