Italy's health service—the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN)—has developed Europe's second largest market for healthcare public--private partnerships. This article describes the origins of private finance for SSN infrastructure, examines the programme's scale and key characteristics, and...

Leasing allows organizations to procure fixed assets without the need for upfront investment, and can be an attractive option for public authorities. This article describes the pattern of public sector demand for leases in Italy. While leasing is widely regarded as a model with the potential to...

<title/> The public expenditure implications of PFI projects in Scotland's NHS are substantial. This article compares PFI capital expenditure with projected unitary charges, examines the annual cost of existing PFI schemes and looks at future costs arising from the planned expansion of PFI. Unless the...

The global financial crisis had a major impact on the cost and availability of finance for infrastructure-based public-private partnerships (PPPs). In response, policy-makers have introduced models of 'credit-enhancement' that aim to reduce the risk faced by private investors and attract...