The paper analyzes the link between the centralized purchasing of goods and services by municipalities and the context in which these administrations operate. While taking into account a number of factors that can lead to a greater or lesser use of Consip, the work focuses on the link between that choice and the local crime rate.
The empirical analysis shows that, in low-crime areas only, an increase in crime is positively correlated with the frequency with which municipalities entrust vendor selection to a third party in order to attempt to limit the risk of inefficiency (passive waste) that would otherwise arise.
The relationship is the inverse in high-crime areas, suggesting a growing willingness by municipalities to maintain autonomous control over purchasing, which may be linked to the possibility of extracting some of the rents produced from this activity (active waste).
Published in 2016 in: Economia Pubblica, v. 43, 2, pp. 131-167
