Showing papers by "Germà Bel published in 2009"

Factors explaining local privatization: a meta-regression analysis

Abstract: Privatization of local public services has been implemented worldwide in the last decades. Why local governments privatize has been the subject of much discussion, and many empirical works have been devoted to analyzing the factors that explain local privatization. Such works have found a great diversity of motivations, and the variation among reported empirical results is large. To investigate this diversity we undertake a meta-regression analysis of the factors explaining the decision to privatize local services. Overall, our results indicate that significant relationships are very dependent upon the characteristics of the studies. Indeed, fiscal stress and political considerations have been found to contribute to local privatization specially in the studies of US cases published in the eighties that consider a broad range of services. Studies that focus on one service capture more accurately the influence of scale economies on privatization. Finally, governments of small towns are more affected by fiscal stress, political considerations and economic efficiency, while ideology seems to play a major role for large cities.

Factors explaining urban transport systems in large European cities: A cross-sectional approach

Abstract: The paper analyses the link between human capital and regional economic growth in the European Union. Using different indicat The importance of effective and efficient mobility in large cities is becoming essential for planners and citizens due to its impact in terms of social, economic and geographic development. The aim of this research is to determine factors explaining urban transport systems by estimating aggregate supply and demand equations for 45 large European cities. Supply and Demand equations are separately and jointly determined using OLS and SUR estimation models. On one hand, our findings suggest the importance of economic variables on the supply of public transport. On the other, we highlight the role of those factors influencing the generalized cost of transport as main drivers of demand for public transit. Additionally, regional variables are introduced to capture institutional heterogeneity in this service, and we find that regional patterns are powerful explanatory determinants of urban transportation systems in Europe. .

The first privatization policy in a democracy: selling state-owned enterprises in 1948-1950 puerto rico

Abstract: In the 1940s, when the Governor of Puerto Rico was appointed by the US President and the Puerto Rican government was answerable only to the US Federal government, a large state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector was established on the island. Public services such as water, transportation and energy were nationalized, and several new manufacturing SOEs were created to produce cement, glass, shoes, paper and chalkboard, and clay products. These enterprises were created and managed by government-owned corporations. Later on, between 1948 and 1950, under the island’s first elected Governor, the government sold these SOEs to private groups. This paper documents both the creation and the privatization of the SOE sector in Puerto Rico, and analyzes the role played by ideology, political interests, and economic concerns in the decision to privatize them. Whereas ideological factors might have played a significant role in the building of the SOE sector, we find that privatization was driven basically by economic factors, such as the superior efficiency of private firms in the sectors where the SOEs operated, and by the desire to attract private industrial investment to the Puerto Rican economy.

Regulating concessions of toll motorways: An empirical study on fixed vs. variable term contracts

Abstract: Recent theoretical developments on concession contracts for long term infrastructure projects under uncertain demand show the benefits of allowing for flexible term contracts rather than fixing a rigid term. This study presents a simulation to compare both alternatives by using real data from the oldest Spanish toll motorways. For this purpose, we analyze how well the flexible term would have performed instead of the fixed length actually established. Our results show a huge reduction of the term of concession that would have dramatically decreased the firm’s benefits and the user’s overpayment due to the internalization of an unexpected traffic increase.

Privatization and Regulatory Reform of Toll Motorways in Europe

Abstract: This article analyzes current trends in toll motorway privatization in Europe as an illustration of the paradox of simultaneous deregulation/privatization and reregulation. Changes in the form of government intervention are identified as transitions from internal control on processes and inputs to external control on performance outputs. The state guarantees its capability to intervene and seek its own objectives even when giving up public property. In fact, output regulation is a partial substitute for public ownership. We analyze the hypothesis that privatization of motorways spurs price regulation. Indeed, we observe that toll regulation becomes more detailed as the private sector increases in size, which is a regular reaction across different institutional frameworks. This result is consistent with the literature on the rise of a regulatory state, which emerges with a new mode of governance based on indirect government. Moreover, the study provides evidence of the importance of temporal context in modeling public sector restructuring.

Preventing competition because of 'solidarity': rhetoric and reality of airport investments in Spain

Abstract: From a public interest perspective, there could be a justification for constraining market mechanisms with the aim of progressive redistribution. However, some policies might be based on selfish motivations of government agents. In this article, we empirically contrast if the infrastructure policy is based only on public interest motivations or if it is also based on the private motivations of policy makers. In this way, Spain infrastructure policy provides a useful policymaking field to test hypothesis about the behaviour of policy makers. We find some evidence regarding the strength of political motivations in explaining such behaviour. In fact, results from our analysis show that political motivations can eventually play a more relevant role than social welfare maximization.

Managing competition in city services: the case of barcelona

Abstract: Clean and safe" strategies are part of urban regeneration in the entrepreneurial city. These strategies are often characterized by privatization and public-private partnerships that enhance investment and create a city space more amenable to tourists and consumers. While such approaches promote increased investment, and differentiate services by district, they raise challenges of competition, cost escalation, and public participation. Barcelona's solid waste management strategy is presented to show the importance of a strong public coordination role when using competition to promote technological innovation and improved quality in city service delivery.

What Influences Advertising Price in Television Channels?: An Empirical Analysis on the Spanish Market

Abstract: Advertising has an important role in the media industry. In a context where advertising generates a negative externality for viewers, this article analyzes the factors explaining ad prices in free TV empirically. This article also considers the participation of government-owned broadcasters in the Spanish market. This study finds that private ownership is associated with higher advertising prices. The results show a positive relation between audience size and ad price and a negative relation between ad price and advertising time. In addition, this study finds that higher prices are associated with the percentage of the population between 14 and 29 years old and the regional gross domestic product per capita in the broadcast area.

Factors Explaining Charges in European Airports: Competition, Market Size, Private Ownership and Regulation

Abstract: This paper examines factors determining airport charges. Using data for 100 large airports in Europe, we find that they charge higher prices when they move more passengers. Additionally, competition from other transport modes and nearby airports imposes some discipline on the pricing behavior of airports. Low-cost carriers and airlines with a high market share seem to have a stronger countervailing power. We also find that private airports not regulated charge higher prices than public or regulated airports. Finally, the regulation mechanism does not seem to influence substantially the level of airport charges.

Privatization and Universal Service Obligations

Abstract: Telecommunications, airlines, and postal services have similar economic features. However, they have followed different privatization patterns. While privatization of the universal service provider (USP) is common in telecommunications and airlines, it is by far less frequent in the postal sector. This paper analyzes how the size of the universal service obligation (USO) and the mechanisms traditionally used to finance it have prevented privatization in the postal sector. By using a model of a mixed duopoly, we explain that privatization is inversely related to the cost of public funds for USO transfers and to the size of the USP´s reserved area.

¿Por qué se privatizan servicios en los municipios (pequeños)?Evidencia empírica sobre residuos sólidos y agua

Abstract: This paper examines factors influencing privatization in solid waste collection and water distribution. We take advantage of data for a sample of municipalities of Aragon to identify the most important factors in small municipalities. The results of empirical analysis show that, for both services, the financial situation of the municipality influences significantly in delivery choices of small municipalities, while ideological factors are not relevant. The motivations related to costs differ according to the specific characteristics of the considered service. In this regard, the dispersion of population strata and inter-municipal cooperation play a particularly relevant role in small municipalities.

Institutional Determinants of Military Spending

Abstract: Drawing on a database for 1988-2006 containing information on 157 countries, we investigate the effects on military spending of government form, electoral rules, concentration of parliamentary parties, and ideology. From an OLS regression on pooled data, our results show that presidential democracies spend more than parliamentary systems on defense, whereas the presence of a plurality voting system will reduce the defense burden. Our findings suggest that, in contrast to theoretical predictions in the literature, institutions do not have the same impact on the provision of all public goods. We present as well evidence regarding the effect of ideology on defense spending.

Servicios locales, infraestructura y transporte: dimensión, escala, redes e instituciones de gobernanza

Abstract: Este trabajo pretende contribuir a la comprensiA³n de las pautas de producciA³n y de gobernanza de los servicios pAoblicos locales. La cuestiA³n central es que algunos de estos servicios estAin caracterizados por economA­as de escala, de densidad o de alcance. Esto provoca que los lA­mites de jurisdicciA³n de los gobiernos municipales sean en algunos casos mAis reducidos de lo que aconsejarA­a la escala A³ptima de producciA³n. De ahA­ emerge una cuestiA³n muy relevante: Â?CA³mo deben organizar los gobiernos locales la provisiA³n de esos servicios de forma que puedan aprovechar las ganancias de escala y, a la vez, mantener un grado suficiente de control sobre los servicios, de forma que las autoridades locales puedan ser reactivas a las presiones de los ciudadanos para proporcionar una calidad adecuada?

Empirical analysis of solid management waste costs: Some evidence from Galicia, Spain

Abstract: This paper analyses the factors that determine solid waste service costs. The empirical analysis is based on information derived from a survey conducted in a sample of Galician municipalities. The results reveal economies of scale in municipalities of fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, such that cooperation between these municipalities could lead to cost savings. It also appears that private delivery is not cheaper than public delivery. Finally, designating a larger proportion of the total waste volume to recycling does not imply greater costs.

Privatization, regulation and airport pricing: an empirical analysis for europe

Abstract: This paper examines factors determining prices that airports charge to airlines. Using data for 100 large airports in Europe, we find that they charge higher prices when they move more passengers. Additionally, competition from other transport modes and other nearby airports imposes some discipline on the pricing behavior of airports. Low-cost carriers and airlines with a high market share seem to have a stronger countervailing power. Finally, we find that private airports not regulated charge higher prices than public or regulated airports. From our analysis, we can infer that market power of each airport is dependent upon its specific characteristics.

Is Private Production of Public Services Cheaper than Public Production? A meta-regression analysis of solid waste and water services

Abstract: Privatization of local government services is assumed to deliver cost savings but empirical evidence for this from around the world is mixed. We conduct a meta-regression analysis of all econometric studies examining privatization for water distribution and solid waste collection services and find no systematic support for lower costs with private production. Differences in study results are explained by differences in time-period of the analyses, service characteristics, and policy environment. We do not find a genuine empirical effect of cost savings resulting from private production. The results suggest that to ensure cost savings, more attention be given to the cost characteristics of the service, the transaction costs involved, and the policy environment stimulating competition, rather than to the debate over public versus private delivery of these services.

Intercontinental Fligths From European Airports: Towards Hub Concentration Or Not?

Abstract: This paper empirically analyzes changes in the supply of non-stop intercontinental flights from European airports. We take advantage of OAG data for air services from a rich sample of European airports to intercontinental destinations in the period 2004-2008. Results of the empirical analysis indicate a tendency towards a more balanced distribution of intercontinental flights across European airports. We also find that the demographic size of a region, its sector specialization, the political role of its central city and the proportion of connecting traffic explain the amount of and changes in long-haul air services supplied from European airports.

From Public to Private: Privatization in 1920's Fascist Italy

Abstract: Italy’s first Fascist government applied a large-scale privatization policy between 1922 and 1925. The government privatized the state monopoly of match sale, eliminated the State monopoly on life insurances, sold most of the State-owned telephone networks and services to private firms, reprivatized the largest metal machinery producer, and awarded concessions to private firms to build and operate motorways. While ideological considerations may have had a certain influence, privatization was used mainly as a political tool to build confidence among industrialists and to increase support for the government and the Partito Nazionale Fascista. Privatization also contributed to balancing the budget, which was the core objective of Fascist economic policy in its first phase.