Three essays on empirical public economics

This dissertation studies the behaviour of Italian municipalities between 1999 and 2015, exploring the influence of political ideologies, municipal responses to fiscal constraints, and signals of financial distress. Specifically, my analysis focuses on municipal management of real estate as a means to investigate the allocation of public resources. While local political parties seem to play a secondary role in the management of real estate portfolios, compliance with fiscal rules appears to be an influential factor. At the same time, these findings cast doubt on the ability of municipalities to rely on their own resources to maintain their investment levels when facing fiscal constraints. Finally, by examining the dynamics of defaulting municipalities, this dissertation provides insightful information on early and late signals of financial distress.