“From de-regulation to re-regulation”: the study of the University of Sassari promoted by the regional Confesercenti explains well the situation on the island, and how to move to reverse the negative trend of the retail trade.
In the lecture hall of the Sassari university, in the presence of the rector Gavino Mariotti, the numbers and the evolution were presented. In 2021, compared to 923 openings, 1325 shutters were lowered, with a balance of -402. While bars and restaurants registered a small positive balance: +22.
The study showed that if for the Sardinian centers of 30 thousand inhabitants or less, the retail trade goes from 0.6 to 0.9% of closures per thousand inhabitants, the situation changes for the three major cities of the island: Olbia l he incidence of closures is 1.7%, in Cagliari and Sassari 1.4%.
Roberto Bolognese, president of the Sardinian Confesercenti, and Domenico D'Orsogna, professor of Administrative Law at the University of Sassari, explained that "the 1998 Bersani decree introduced the liberalization of commercial activities, but providing for a significant implementation activity of the Regions and of Local Authorities, which instead have let it go, leading to an evident deregulation. The negative effects were then accentuated by the pandemic. Instead it is necessary to re-regulate and reprogram the commercial activities taking into account the social utility, the environment, health and tourist attraction ".
There are some virtuous examples: the Municipality of Florence and Tuscany, which already five years ago adopted provisions to protect the artisan shops, bookstores and traditional neighborhood businesses.