Forms of association of Italian municipalities: empirical evidence

For several decades a process of transfer of functions and services from the highest levels of government to local authorities has occurred in Italy. This has resulted in new and broader responsibilities for Italian municipalities that are, in most cases, small (called "Dust Commons"). This presents new challenges for these municipalities who often have difficulty managing the sevies and in strategic planning to devellop appropriate strategies. A real risk in recent years is that functions transferred to lower levels of government can not be carried out quantitatively and qualitatively with incurring excessive costs. One pontential solution to this problem is implementation of associated forms of services and functions management whereby municipalities cooperate in providing the services. The aim of this paper is to show how this form of partnership can reduce costs and improving the effectiveness of services.