Mapping the field of quasi-autonomous organizations in France and Italy

Abstract

The quango continuum designed by Greve, Flinders, and Van Thiel aimed to help in identifying and categorizing different quasi-autonomous organizations in the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Here, the continuum is applied to France and Italy in order to test its validity as a tool to study the field of quangos and to introduce French and Italian quasi-autonomous organizations. The continuum turns out to be a relevant framework to show the specific features of these organizations in different countries. On the whole, France seems to favor more public bodies than Italy, which is more inclined to turn them into private entities.