The legal and administrative system significantly affects the costs and competitiveness of businesses. In Italy it has long been indifferent to market considerations. In a World Bank classification of the bureaucratic and administrative formalities affecting businesses, Italy comes 70th, last but one among the OECD countries.
From the middle of the nineties onwards, steps were taken to simplify administrative procedures and improve the system of regulation. They have been only partially successful. The discrepancy between measures as formally drafted and their practical application continues to be a general problem of the Italian system.