Exploring the link between the corporate governance and efficiency of Italian water utilities

The present paper analyzes the linkage between the corporate governance of Italian water utilities (ownership, board size and board composition) and their ef fi ciency measured through data envelopment analysis (DEA). Using a general panel data regression model, we found that board size negatively affects the ef fi ciency of water utilities. Moreover, the presence of directors with political af fi liations or who are/were members of local or national go- vernment negatively affects ef fi ciency, and the presence of directors with a degree on the board has a slight negative effect on productivity. Conversely, other variables (ownership, gender diversity and average age of board members) were found not to affect the ef fi ciency of Italian water utilities. The existence of economies of scale was also confirmed .