The various actors in regulated industries relate to each other within a broader institutional framework, i.e. by way of formal and informal rules. An important role in the implementation of liberalization processes is given to the regulation and thus to regulatory institutions. Regulation...

In network industries, a Universal Service Obligation (USO) is often seen as a burden on an incumbent, which requires compensation for the net cost of such service provision. This paper estimates the effects of consumer loyalty as an intangible benefit of USO in the postal sector. In doing so,...

This article estimates returns to scale and monopolistic markups on a large sample of Polish firms in the manufacturing and services sectors during 1996-2004. Methodology based on instrumental variables allows joint estimation of both, scale elasticities as well as markups, while the unobserved...

This paper reviews the trends in Indian Agriculture before and after the introduction of the economic reforms, and the advent of WTO regime. We employ the Cobb Douglas Production Function using the OLS specification to investigate the determinants of agricultural gross domestic product for the...

In empirical regional economics, returns to scale are typically estimated at the regional level in search for evidence on alternative theories of growth and agglomeration. However, returns to scale may also have a firm-level dimension. In this paper, we exploit micro level data and estimate the...

Cost functions for three Canadian manufacturing agri-food sectors (meat, bakery and dairy) are estimated using provincial data from 1990 to 1999. A translog functional form is used and the concavity property is imposed locally. The Morishima substitution elasticities and returns to scale...

Regional free trade zones have been unexpectedly successful in the last decade. Since 1980 the European Community enlarged significantly its membership and its scope. It now includes southern European countries, and market-integrating features allowing goods, people, services and capital to flow...

Regional free trade zones have been unexpectedly successful in the last decade. Since 1980 the European Community enlarged significantly its membership and its scope. It now includes southern European countries, and market-integrating features allowing goods, people, services and capital to flow...

This paper considers a partial equilibrium model of conflict where two asymmetric, rational and risk-neutral opponents evaluate differently the contested stake. Differently from common contest models, agents have the option of choosing a second instrument to affect the outcome of the conflict....