This paper reviews the Latin American experience with highway privatization during the last decade. Based on evidence from Argentina, Colombia and Chile, we find that private financing of new highways freed up fewer public resources than expected because public funds were often diverted to bail...

We examine the economics of infrastructure finance, focusing on public provision and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). We show that project finance is appropriate for PPP projects, because there are few economies of scope and because assets are project specific. Furthermore, we suggest that...

We compare the cost of generating electricity with coal and wind in Chile. On average, we estimate that the levelized cost of coal, including externalities, is $84/MWh. It is efficient to abate air pollutants (SOx, NOx and PM2.5) but not CO2. With abatement the cost wrought by environmental...

In 1975 Chile implemented an ortodox stabilization program. The fiscal deficit was sharply reduced and monetary policy was tight. However, indexation of wages and the exchange rate to past inflation implied that inflation only gradually declined. In fact,

This paper is an assessment of freight transport regulation in Santiago. We conclude that most regulations restrict quantities and access. Moreover, agents perceive them as erratic and uncertain. We argue that these restrictions are not only costly but a

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) cannot be justified because they free public funds. When PPPs are desirable because the private sector is more efficient, the contract that optimally trades demand risk, user-fee distortions and the opportunity cost of public funds is characterized by a minimum...

Regulating seaports is difficult in general, even more so for the weak regulatory institutions common in developing countries. For this reason some countries have awarded these facilities via Demsetz auctions, to the port operator that bids the lowest cargo-handling fee. A major concern with...

This paper reviews the Latin American experience with highway privatization during the last decade. Based on evidence from Argentina, Colombia and Chile, we find that private financing of new highways freed up fewer public resources than expected because public funds were often diverted to bail...

In the early 1980s Chile reformed its electricity sector, introducing a regulatory framework that became influential worldwide. But in 1998 and 1999 La Ni?a brought one of the worst droughts on record, causing a price system collapse, random power outages, and three-hour rotating electricity...