Accounting for network operators' heterogeneity is of crucial importance for regulators. In contrast to observed heterogeneity, the consideration of unobserved differences is far more challenging. Most estimation models try to account for unobserved factors that impact the network operators'...

This paper analyzes the performance of the European railway sector in the period of deregulation (1990-2005). Using a stochastic frontier panel data model that controls for unobserved heterogeneity a multiple-output multipleinput distance function model is estimated in order to evaluate the...

In recent years the economic performance of public non-profit sectors such as cultural services has become an interesting economic issue. This is due to the high dependence of cultural institutions on public funding on the one hand and the increasing cost-pressure on public budgets on the other...

Die aktuelle Diskussion um den Umfang des Börsengangs der Deutschen Bahn unter Einbeziehung des Schienennetzes oder nicht konzentriert sich im wesentlichen auf Fragen der Wettbewerbswirkung und der zukünftigen Belastung des Staatshaushaltes. Eventuelle Vorteile der bestehenden...

This paper analyzes the productivity development in the German public theater sector for the seasons 1991/1992-2005/2006. Using a stochastic distance frontier approach that allows to decompose total factor productivity change into different sources we examine (a) whether Baumol’s cost-disease...

The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of regulatory and environmental conditions on technical efficiency of European railways. Using a panel data set of 31 railway firms from 22 European countries from 1994 to 2005, a multioutput distance function model, including regulatory and...

Reviewing the development of network access charges in the German electricity market since 2002 reveals significant variation. While some firms continually increased or decreased their access charges, a variety of firms exhibited discontinuous behavior with price changes in both directions. From...