Exploring FOI Publicity Patterns: the Case of Italian Municipalities

This paper aims to study FOI publicity implementation patterns by Italian municipalities' (>30,000 inhabitants). The analysis relies on data collected through an original survey of the municipalities' websites. Data allow inspecting the information that local governments disclose about the procedures for the presentation of FOI requests and how the FOI requests received in the past were managed. Cluster analyses reveal that the municipalities are rather heterogeneous in managing FOI publicity. Some of them provide full disclosure of relevant information; instead, others show non-compliance with the guidelines issued by the Italian central government. Regression analyses suggest that municipalities' size and income positively correlate with more elevated publicity. Civic capital is also positively connected with information about the procedures for presenting FOI requests. Factors affecting the demand for information about FOI, such as education and access to the internet, do not seem to be linked with publicity patterns.