Abstract

The article attempts to explain how it is possible that the introduction of «collaborative surveillance» (a compulsory form of ex-ante control) by the national anticorruption authority increased the efficiency of the procurement process and sped-up the implementation of EXPO Milano 2015. In order to do so it employs the theory of causal mechanisms, identifying the combined effect of «attribution of threat, repeated interaction» and «certification» as the main reasons for its success. The conclusion attempts to generalize the findings by identifying the conditions under which it is possible to replicate the experience with the same success.