This study evaluates the effectiveness of a novel cultural policy to recover the valorization function of Italian state museums by increasing managerial autonomy. The policy is part of the Franceschini reform, introduced in 2014, that concerns the governance of cultural institutions and was justified by the severe budget constraints resulting from economic crisis and a spending review. Given the staggered implementation of the reform across 32 museums that obtained special autonomy, we apply a difference-in-differences strategy that allows to properly investigate the causal effect of the policy reform on museums’ outcome measures of exhibition function, as visitors and revenue from admissions. Our findings robustly support the effectiveness of the cultural policy reform in terms these outcomes. Although we provide some suggestive evidence of the efficacy of museums’ management (through a number of communication and supplementary services), this study suffers of the limitations due to the lack of more appropriate measures on how successful changes in management have been. However, results aim to offer policy recommendations in favor of greater managerial and financial autonomy of state museums that, while preserving their conservation function, can promote the widespread utilization of collections ensuring museums’ greater sustainability.

Public buildings and open spaces form key elements in an exchange system of both tangible resources (energy, water, physical spaces) and intangible assets (services, skills, time). This study presents an innovative protocol (AGAPE—Automatic GIS Assessment Protocol for Energy and environment) to regenerate metropolitan suburbs by managing common resources and support sustainable communities. It tackles energy poverty by integrating urban planning, environmental design, and economics into geographic information science. This expedites public well-being by redesigning public facilities to enhance community connections and improve bioclimatic resilience. The model test site is a peripheral suburban area, Melito di Napoli, within the Metropolitan City of Naples (Italy), characterized by high population density and ongoing suburban expansion. The protocol evaluates temporal scenarios for implementing multi-purpose solutions, supporting public agencies in strategic intervention assessments, optimizing funding allocation and community benefits. The modeling of redesigned community assets reveal key outcomes: renewed land-use opportunities, reduced spatial inequities, and increased climate change resilience. The transformation of public buildings and facilities into multi-benefit community cores catalyzes virtuous urban regeneration processes. The model AGAPE provides a replicable decision framework to transform existing settlements and to drive the transition towards more sustainable, equitable urban communities.

In Italy, creditworthy firms not involved in corruption, accounting frauds, and connections with organized crime may benefit of cheaper loan interest rates thanks to the Legality Rating. We provide evidence that, upon receiving this public certification, firms increase their tangible capital expenditure by about 3-5% of the median capital-to-total asset ratio. The effect is stronger in provinces where it is more difficult for the banks to assess firms’ creditworthiness. This latter finding highlights the potential role of public signals in supporting investment and local development.

The paper proposes an exploration regarding environmental policy (Agenda 2030 and Ecological Rule of Law) and its implications for the development of women's skills, abilities, and capacities in all areas. The first paragraph, Women’s Capacities an...