The Effects on Territorial Economies of the Financial Collapse of Local Bodies: The Case of the Municipality of Taranto

The present work aims to offer a contribute for the evaluation of the opportunity to adopt strategies based on state support or, alternatively, on the managerial autonomy of local bodies in financial trouble. The research, after analysing the main guidelines at European level, presents the results of an empirical investigation on the economic effects produced on the local economy by the default of the Municipality of Taranto. The choice of the city of Taranto is due both to the significant magnitude of the ascertained debt, which was one of the highest in the history of Italy, and to the considerable economic effects caused by the recovery procedure. Specifically, with reference to the companies admitted to the passive mass, have been determined the economic losses and the opportunity cost of the companies involved in the insolvency procedure and located in the local area of reference.