Methodology

The RPA project is based on a complex methodological framework, summarized below. For further details and in-depth analysis, reference should be made to the Guide to the Regional Public Accounts, the 2022 updates, and the latest methodological innovations introduced in 2023 (three files available in the RPA Guide folder).

The RPA System produces information with reference to two universes:

· Public Administration (PA), comprising entities that predominantly provide non-market services;

· Extended Public Sector (EPS), which includes, in addition to PA entities, an Extra-PA Sector consisting of central, regional, and local bodies that provide public utility services and are directly or indirectly controlled by public entities.

In turn, the Extra-PA Sector includes:

· at the central level, National Public Enterprises (NPE), i.e. publicly controlled entities providing marketable public services (e.g. telecommunications, energy, etc.);

· at the regional level, Regional Public Enterprises (RPE), i.e. entities controlled by Regions that provide marketable services within the territory;

· at the local level, Local Public Enterprises (LPE), a highly numerous segment extensively surveyed across the territory by the RPA Regional Units.

The flexible approach that characterizes the RPA System, supported by the availability of a particularly broad survey universe, makes it possible to adjust the boundaries of the reference universe according to specific analytical purposes.

It is therefore possible to conduct analyses of Italian public expenditure either with reference solely to Public Administration (PA) or by expanding the scope of observation to the entire Extended Public Sector (EPS), which, as noted, includes publicly controlled enterprises at the national, regional, and local levels.

Entities belonging to the various segments of the Extended Public Sector are subject to continuous monitoring, carried out with the contribution of the entire RPA Network, as well as through ongoing coordination with other institutions (ISTAT, the State General Accounting Department, research institutes, universities, etc.).