1,720,980 research outputs found
VCG Mechanism and Centrality Measures in Network Analisys
No full textIn this work we show that some centrality measures in network analysis are exactly an application of the principles underlying the well-known Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism. We then present an example relying on a transport framework which highlights how these centrality measures à la VCG can indeed provide valuable information to fairly assess the importance of the analyzed network elements
Determinants of the incidence of non-academic staff in European and US HEIs
Full text linkIn this article, we contribute to the scant literature covering quantitative studies on the determinants of the non-academic staff incidence in higher education institutions by analysing how the proportion of non-academic staff is related to key features such as size, prestige, year of foundation and financial structure of universities. We apply nonlinear regression analysis to compare HEIs across Europe and the USA, taking into account time and cross-country heterogeneity of the two balanced panel datasets concerning European and American universities over a period of 6 years (2011–2016 for Europe and 2012–2017 for the USA). Evidence suggests that in both Europe and the USA, public and larger (if sufficiently large) as well as more research-oriented units are characterised by a higher proportion of non-academic staff. In Europe, we observe an inverted U-shaped effect of the share of non-personnel expenditure and the foundation year on the proportion of non-academic staff, while the proportion of non-academic staff decreases with the share of core and third-party funding. For the USA, we obtain similar findings except that the share of core funding and third-party funding is characterised by a U-shaped effect, and the impact of the share of non-personnel expenditure has no empirical effect on the proportion of non-academic staff. Additionally, we discover that some factors that contribute to the proportion of non-academic staff may constitute indicators of performance, suggesting the need for further research to extend our knowledge on the complex issue of the role played by non-academic staff in university performance
Optimal pricing and investment for resources with alternative uses and capacity limits
Full text linkAirport runways, radio spectrum, and hospital beds are resources with capacity limits used to provide multiple services with specific capacity requirements in separate markets, which contribute to recover capacity investment costs. A welfare-maximizing and (possibly) budget-constrained firm, whose operating costs significantly increase as total capacity use presses against capacity, chooses prices and capacity. When the equilibrium capacity is reached, second-best Ramsey prices must be adjusted, and mark-ups on marginal costs may be higher for services with higher demand elasticities, if they intensively use capacity. Moreover, for a given output vector, the firm invests more than in first best. Instead, the equilibrium capacity may be first best when there is excess capacity to reduce operating costs and thus improve welfare. Our model can be used as a benchmark to evaluate the efficiency of market mechanisms for resource allocation and pricing, or when market mechanisms are not adopted
Intercity bus and rail services: Competition and welfare effects
No full textWe study the effects of the deregulation of intercity bus services in Europe on intermodal competition in long-distance land passenger transport and on social welfare. We consider a bus company with a flexible (Internet-based) business model and a rail operator with a rigid cost structure due to indivisibilities. We adjust the standard location model of horizontal differentiation to account for quality differences between modes, and for a bus capacity limit. We show that deregulation may turn the former rail monopoly on a route into a bus monopoly, particularly if bus quality is high enough and/or bus marginal cost is low enough. Since the bus is capacity constrained, then social welfare may be improved through a lump-sum transfer from bus to rail to restore competition and increase the number of travelers. Instead, we show that intermodal competition may reduce welfare (compared to rail monopoly) if the bus is inefficient and/or of low quality, so that bus services should be restricted by imposing quotas or even entry bans. Finally, we relax some assumptions and calibrate the model with data from the Genoa-Milan route in Italy. Numerical simulations confirm theoretical predictions and estimate annual welfare gains on the route under the compensation scheme
Benefits and costs of vertical agreements between airlines and high speed rail operators
No full textThere are many examples of airline-high speed rail vertical agreements, where the airline buys train seats to sell the multimodal product. We discuss the formation of such agreements, depending on the sunk costs of cooperation and firms’ bargaining power, and their welfare effects, depending on hub airport capacity and mode substitution. We argue that, contrary to mergers, vertical agreements largely benefit passengers. We propose a simple test as a ‘safe harbor’, which provides a sufficient condition for consumer surplus to be higher under vertical agreements. It may be optimal to subsidize desirable agreements when they are not incentive-compatible for firms
Standard costs of regional public rail passenger transport: evidence from Italy
No full textThe paper estimates the standard cost in Italian regional public rail passenger transport services (LPTR), depending on service characteristics. The results highlight the crucial role of: number of seats per ride, commercial speed, service size and length of rail tracks. The model also shows the positive link between investment in rolling stock and the unit cost of the service. Finally, based on the empirical evidence, we propose regulatory adjustments to accomplish policy targets regarding the fair allocation of public LPTR funds to Regions and Local Authorities and a more efficient use of (scarce) local and national public resources
Standard cost of italian metro services: The influence of automatism, wheels technology and capacity
No full textIn this paper, we measure the standard cost of light metro (LM) and heavy metro (HM) Italian services based on the cost model provided by Avenali et al., (2018). The cost model takes into account technological characteristics that may drive cost differentials, such as the degree of automatism of the rolling stock, wheels technology and hourly peak capacity. Specifically, we focus on three case studies: (i) not automatic railway steel technology with heavy capacity; (ii) not automatic railway steel technology with light capacity; (iii) automatic rubber-tyred technology with light capacity. Data have been gathered by means of questionnaires sent to companies producing 100% of train revenue kilometers (TRK) in Italy in 2012. We perform a simulation study in order to highlight the marginal impact of efficiency gains obtained by manipulating cost-driving variables both under the control of the operators (trains and drivers productivity) and of the Local Authority who assigns the service (number of TRK assigned within the service contract and the number of opening hours per station). These examples show how the Local Authority should allocate extra-resources if it wants to increase the quality-quantity mix of metro services
The allocation of national public resources in the Italian local public bus transport sector
No full textLocal public transport (LPT) operators typically operate at a deficit and require economic compensation from public authorities. In some countries, public funds are provided both at a national (centralized) level and at a regional (decentralized) level. Thus, a proper distribution of such funds should be based on the costs of an efficient operator and a methodology that does not build differential inefficiencies across regions. In this process, the Italian industry reform requires that the main criterion of historical costs currently applied to allocate national public resources among Local Authorities should be gradually overcome in favor of principles that encourage efficiency. We propose an operative methodology to apply standard costs in the allocation of national public resources available for the local public bus transport services to Regions and, in turn, to Local Authorities. Moreover, we perform simulations to illustrate the impact of this methodology in terms of reallocation of national public resources among Local Authorities. Based on certified data, results of this paper fill a severe knowledge gap and support (i) policy makers when it comes to allocate public resources, as well as competition authorities in their market assessment and scholars aimed at investigates this prominent topic
Open software & hardware platforms: how different forms of incentives promote innovation
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