This article analyses regulation, ownership and unobserved managerial ability as factors affecting the performance of a representative sample of European airports by means of frontier models. The Alvarez et al. (2004) frontier model is used. These airports are ranked according to their technical...

Today's portfolio of energy production, based mostly on fossil fuels, and increasing energy consumption go against a sustainable vision for the world's development. Governments are shifting their energy policies towards renewable, nonpollutant sources of energy, developing large investment plans...

The 'big is better' idea has recently been challenged in network industries. Scale economies are considered finite so that for the individual utility an optimal scale of operations arises. A similar observation yields for scope economies as joint production is not predicted univocally anymore....

With this paper we identify a number of the theoretical principles that apply to public–private partnership (PPP) contracts, introducing new case studies and policy discussions relevant for Europe and elsewhere. We discuss to what extent these contracts can and should be applied in the waste...

This article looks at the use of institutionalized public–private partnership (PPP) arrangements by local governments for the delivery of different types of infrastructure. It starts by analyzing the mixed company model from a theoretical point of view, in particular the potential for internal...

With this paper we identify a number of the theoretical principles that apply to public–private partnership (PPP) contracts, introducing new case studies and policy discussions relevant for Europe and elsewhere. We discuss to what extent these contracts can and should be applied in the waste...

This short communication evaluates the influence of congestion on the technical efficiency of airports using three different approaches. To accomplish this aim a sample of 141 worldwide airports is used. The results show considerable signs of congestion inefficiency in some airports,...

This paper provides an overview of how the major airports are regulated in Europe. In order to eliminate the potential of airports to exercise market power and protect the public interest, it has become increasingly necessary to set a common regulatory framework. We intend to discuss the need...

Following the liberalization wave in the airline sector, airports have been gradually taken out of the public sphere and open to the private initiative. This phenomenon is generally referred to as privatization, but not all the cases consist of, in fact, a full divestiture of assets. Although...