Principal Investigator
Economics PhD candidate Giovanna Marcolongo aims to use statistical analysis to examine the relationship between emergencies—defined as municipalities’ declaration of a “state of emergency”—and corruption in local government, particularly focusing on public procurement outcomes. In order to determine this correlation, Marcolongo will investigate whether municipalities in a “state of emergency” are more likely to award public procurement contracts using exceptional procedures, award contracts to the same firms recursively, and whether auctions in these towns display fewer participants. She will also determine whether the winners of contracts are more likely to come from regions with a high concentration of organized crime, thus lending support to her hypothesis that states of emergency work as a gateway for organized crime to enter new areas. Finally, she will explore whether the results persist even after the state of emergency is over.
Marcolongo’s research will provide necessary and rigorous statistical analysis to add weight to the perceived link between emergencies and the corruption in the governance of cities. Her analysis will focus on the natural disasters that occurred in Italy between 2006 and 2016. Her study will inform the debate on how to better shape the management of emergencies at the municipal level: what elements are to be considered to achieve a better balance of powers between politicians and technical experts as well as between national, state and local administrators in order to more easily identify and address corruption.
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