This paper examines the phenomenon of late payment by Italy’s general government. Its main contribution to the debate are new estimates on the stock of trade payables and the average payment times for the years 2008-14 which, compared with those published in the Bank of Italy’s Annual Reports, incorporate a number of methodological refinements. We also investigate the distribution of trade debts according to several characteristics of creditor firms (sector, size, geographical area, intensity of relations with the public sector) and propose some useful elements for evaluating the effectiveness of the Government’s 2013-14 programme aimed at reducing the outstanding debts.
Published in 2015 in: Politica economica - Journal of Economic Policy, v. 31, 3, pp. 421-458
