Welfare

Kindergartens, which municipalities do not use NRP funds for new buildings?

A Senate study: 'Smaller municipalities are more likely not to participate, regardless of population 0-2. This may be partly related to the lack of administrative capacity of smaller administrations'

by Redazione Roma

21 August 2024

3' min read

Key points

Population 0-2 years old
Demographic density
Birth rate and coverage rate of kindergartens in the local labour system
Average income and percentage of population with a university degree or higher
Average age of the city council and seniority of the mayor (years in office)
Mayor's gender and percentage of women in the city council
Expenditure for technical offices in relation to the soundness of the budget

3' min read

Which municipalities are not using available NRP funds to increase the availability of urgently needed kindergartens in our country? A study by the Senate Impact Assessment Office shows that there are five categories of factors that could potentially influence the non-participation in calls for tenders and, consequently, local government inaction.

Population 0-2 years

The most important factor in both the Centre-North and the South is the size of the municipality. Smaller municipalities are more likely not to participate, regardless of population 0-2. This may be partly related to the lack of administrative capacity of smaller municipalities.

Demographic density

Strongly linked to urbanisation, both in the South and the Centre-North, it is a crucial predictor for non-participation in calls for tenders, in line with studies showing a different effect of cohesion policy in urban and rural areas. Another important structural factor, especially for northern municipalities, is the compactness index, which measures the prevalence of the urban centre within a municipality. Municipalities with less prevalent urban areas, as in the South, may be more likely to require more than one kindergarten.

Birth rate and crèche coverage rate in the local labour system

In both the South and the Centre-North, the greatest likelihood of not participating in the call for applications is concentrated in municipalities with a lower birth rate, although with some differences: in the municipalities of the South, the rate of coverage of crèches is more important, while in the municipalities of the North, the birth rate is the main factor. This could be partly related to heterogeneity in the availability of services (grandparents, babysitters, private nurseries...) and cultural differentiation between the two areas. On the whole, a municipality is more likely not to participate if the birth rate and the number of available daycare places are low.

Average income and percentage of population with a university degree or higher

Municipalities with a highly educated population are less likely to miss funding opportunities, especially in southern municipalities. The influence of income on local government behaviour varies significantly between northern and southern regions: instead of following a linear relationship, it takes a rather positive direction in the South and a curvilinear shape, similar to an inverted U, in the North.

Average age of the municipal council and seniority of the mayor (years in office)

Younger politicians (particularly those under 40) are less likely to miss out on funding opportunities in the North. This observation could be attributed, at least in part, to the political aspirations of the politicians, who may show a greater degree of concern for their career trajectory. Regarding the year in which mayors are in office, there are some differences between the two areas. In the southern regions, a kind of U-shaped pattern emerges, indicating that politicians are more inclined to engage in initiatives during the second year of their tenure. This suggests that those who abstained from participation were those who were at the beginning of their term of office, perhaps due to inexperience, and, more significantly, those who were close to the end of their term of office, probably because they expected that the investment would not be completed before the upcoming elections. In northern municipalities, on the other hand, a decrease in inertia is observed as the length of a politician's term increases. This trend could be indicative of a lower level of opportunistic behaviour on the part of local politicians.

Mayor's gender and percentage of women in the city council

The first factor has a different impact between southern and central-northern municipalities. In the South, female mayors are less likely to lose funding opportunities, and this is in line with the literature showing that women in politics are usually more concerned about the welfare of citizens, particularly with services that can support gender equality.

Expenditure for technical offices in relation to the soundness of the budget

In the Centre-North there is a negative correlation between expenditure on technical offices and the inertia of the local administration. In contrast, in southern municipalities inertia is not a resource problem: the high economic share invested in technical offices is not compensated for by greater efficiency. Another important factor is the soundness of the budget, measured by the surplus or deficit in relation to current revenue. This is a useful indicator because mayors may have concerns about the management of kindergartens after the facilities have been built with PNRR funds. The results reveal that this is not the case: on the whole, greater inertia is observed in municipalities with a larger budget surplus. In contrast, the political party administering the municipality is not relevant.