IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jaitra/v133y2026ics0969699726000086.html

Efficiency of Peruvian regional airports: Does the PPP framework make a difference?

Author

Listed:
  • Chang, Victor
  • Tovar, Beatriz

Abstract

This paper examines whether Public-Private Partnership (PPP) frameworks have improved the technical efficiency of Peruvian regional airports. Using panel data from 17 airports between 2004 and 2017, we estimate a Latent Class Stochastic Frontier Model (LCSFM) based on an input-oriented Cobb-Douglas distance function, which is explicitly controlling for unobserved technological heterogeneity. Airports are classified into two technological groups, with concessionaire status (AdP) serving as a separating variable. Results reveal that airports managed under PPP schemes achieve higher efficiency levels and are more likely to operate with superior technology, with both groups exhibiting increasing returns to scale. Evidence of technological progress, biased towards operational expenditures, suggests that efficiency gains have been driven by labour innovations, outsourcing, and digitalization. These findings highlight the positive role of PPPs in fostering operational improvements and underline the risks of ignoring heterogeneity in regulatory benchmarking. We argue that incorporating heterogeneity-adjusted models into regulatory frameworks could strengthen incentive-based policies, guide infrastructure investments more effectively, and support sustainable development of regional air transport networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Chang, Victor & Tovar, Beatriz, 2026. "Efficiency of Peruvian regional airports: Does the PPP framework make a difference?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:133:y:2026:i:c:s0969699726000086
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102972
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969699726000086
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.102972?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Víctor Chang & Beatriz Tovar, 2017. "Heterogeneity Unobserved and Efficiency: A Latent Class Model for West Coast of South Pacific Port Terminals," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 51(2), pages 139-13-156.
    2. Ha, Hun-Koo & Wan, Yulai & Yoshida, Yuichiro & Zhang, Anming, 2013. "Airline market structure and airport efficiency: Evidence from major Northeast Asian airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 32-42.
    3. Chen, Ying-Hsiu & Lai, Po-Lin & Piboonrungroj, Pairach, 2017. "The relationship between airport performance and privatisation policy: A nonparametric metafrontier approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 229-235.
    4. Chen, Ying-Hsiu & Lai, Po-Lin, 2019. "Determining the relationship between ownership and technical efficiency by using a dynamic stochastic production frontier approach," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 61-67.
    5. Oliver Hart, 2003. "Incomplete Contracts and Public Ownership: Remarks, and an Application to Public-Private Partnerships," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(486), pages 69-76, March.
    6. Carlos Pestana Barros & Shunsuke Managi & Yuichiro Yoshida, 2011. "Heterogeneity On The Technical Efficiency In Japanese Airports," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 56(04), pages 523-534.
    7. Ripoll-Zarraga, Ane Elixabete & Raya, Josep Maria, 2020. "Tourism indicators and airports' technical efficiency," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Barros, Carlos Pestana, 2011. "Cost efficiency of African airports using a finite mixture model," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 807-813, November.
    9. Juan Martín & Concepción Román & Augusto Voltes-Dorta, 2009. "A stochastic frontier analysis to estimate the relative efficiency of Spanish airports," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 163-176, June.
    10. Oum, Tae H. & Yan, Jia & Yu, Chunyan, 2008. "Ownership forms matter for airport efficiency: A stochastic frontier investigation of worldwide airports," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 422-435, September.
    11. Fernández, Xosé Luis & Coto-Millán, Pablo & Díaz-Medina, Benito, 2018. "The impact of tourism on airport efficiency: The Spanish case," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 52-58.
    12. Tovar, Beatriz & Martín-Cejas, Roberto Rendeiro, 2009. "Are outsourcing and non-aeronautical revenues important drivers in the efficiency of Spanish airports?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 217-220.
    13. Pels, Eric & Nijkamp, Peter & Rietveld, Piet, 2001. "Relative efficiency of European airports," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 183-192, July.
    14. Martini, Gianmaria & Scotti, Davide & Viola, Domenico & Vittadini, Giorgio, 2020. "Persistent and temporary inefficiency in airport cost function: An application to Italy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 999-1019.
    15. Assaf, A. George & Gillen, David & Barros, Carlos, 2012. "Performance assessment of UK airports: Evidence from a Bayesian dynamic frontier model," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 603-615.
    16. Jean-Jacques Laffont & Jean Tirole, 1993. "A Theory of Incentives in Procurement and Regulation," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262121743, December.
    17. Andrei Shleifer, 1985. "A Theory of Yardstick Competition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 16(3), pages 319-327, Autumn.
    18. Scotti, Davide & Malighetti, Paolo & Martini, Gianmaria & Volta, Nicola, 2012. "The impact of airport competition on technical efficiency: A stochastic frontier analysis applied to Italian airport," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 9-15.
    19. Burns, Phil & Jenkins, Cloda & Riechmann, Christoph, 2005. "The role of benchmarking for yardstick competition," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 302-309, December.
    20. Yoshida, Yuichiro & Fujimoto, Hiroyoshi, 2004. "Japanese-airport benchmarking with the DEA and endogenous-weight TFP methods: testing the criticism of overinvestment in Japanese regional airports," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 533-546, November.
    21. Aguirre, Julio & Mateu, Pedro & Pantoja, Chrissie, 2019. "Granting airport concessions for regional development: Evidence from Peru," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 138-152.
    22. Assaf, A., 2009. "Accounting for size in efficiency comparisons of airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 256-258.
    23. Karanki, Fecri & Lim, Siew Hoon, 2021. "Airport use agreements and cost efficiency of U.S. airports," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 68-77.
    24. Tovar, Beatriz & Wall, Alan, 2015. "Can ports increase traffic while reducing inputs? Technical efficiency of Spanish Port Authorities using a directional distance function approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 128-140.
    25. Barros, Carlos Pestana, 2008. "Technical efficiency of UK airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 175-178.
    26. Iyer, K.Chandrashekhar & Jain, Soumya, 2019. "Performance measurement of airports using data envelopment analysis: A review of methods and findings," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    27. Ripoll-Zarraga, Ane Elixabete & Huderek-Glapska, Sonia, 2021. "Airports’ managerial human capital, ownership, and efficiency," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    28. Ane Elixabete Ripoll-Zarraga, 2023. "Airports’ public infrastructure and sources of inefficiency," Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(55), pages 176-196, June.
    29. Pels, Eric & Nijkamp, Peter & Rietveld, Piet, 2003. "Inefficiencies and scale economies of European airport operations," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 341-361, September.
    30. Vanessa Liebert & Hans-Martin Niemeier, 2013. "A Survey of Empirical Research on the Productivity and Efficiency Measurement of Airports," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 47(2), pages 157-189, May.
    31. Beatriz Tovar & Héctor Rodríguez-Déniz, 2015. "Classifying Ports for Efficiency Benchmarking: A Review and a Frontier-based Clustering Approach," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 378-400, May.
    32. Hidalgo-Gallego, Soraya & Mateo-Mantecón, Ingrid, 2019. "Effect of concentration in airline market on Spanish airport technical efficiency," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 56-66.
    33. Vincenzo Fasone & Sandra Zapata-Aguirre, 2016. "Measuring business performance in the airport context: a critical review of literature," International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 65(8), pages 1137-1158, November.
    34. Tovar, Beatriz & Martín-Cejas, Roberto Rendeiro, 2010. "Technical efficiency and productivity changes in Spanish airports: A parametric distance functions approach," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 249-260, March.
    35. Greene, William, 2005. "Reconsidering heterogeneity in panel data estimators of the stochastic frontier model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 126(2), pages 269-303, June.
    36. Grout, Paul A, 1997. "The Economics of the Private Finance Initiative," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 13(4), pages 53-66, Winter.
    37. Kutlu, Levent & McCarthy, Patrick, 2016. "US airport ownership, efficiency, and heterogeneity," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 117-132.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Voltes-Dorta, Augusto & Pagliari, Romano, 2012. "The impact of recession on airports' cost efficiency," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 211-222.
    2. D’Alfonso, Tiziana & Daraio, Cinzia & Nastasi, Alberto, 2015. "Competition and efficiency in the Italian airport system: new insights from a conditional nonparametric frontier analysis," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 20-38.
    3. Fabio Carlucci & Andrea Cirà & Paolo Coccorese, 2018. "Measuring and Explaining Airport Efficiency and Sustainability: Evidence from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Martini, Gianmaria & Scotti, Davide & Viola, Domenico & Vittadini, Giorgio, 2020. "Persistent and temporary inefficiency in airport cost function: An application to Italy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 999-1019.
    5. Song, Yongkang & Li, Yanhua & Ke, Hanchen & Zhao, Keyan, 2025. "Study on the subsidy efficiency of small and medium-sized airports in China based on social economic impact," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Adler, Nicole & Ülkü, Tolga & Yazhemsky, Ekaterina, 2013. "Small regional airport sustainability: Lessons from benchmarking," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 22-31.
    7. See, Kok Fong & Li, Fei, 2015. "Total factor productivity analysis of the UK airport industry: A Hicks-Moorsteen index method," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-10.
    8. Bergantino, Angela Stefania & Intini, Mario & Volta, Nicola, 2021. "The spatial dimension of competition among airports at the worldwide level: a spatial stochastic frontier analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 295(1), pages 118-130.
    9. Fernández, Xose Luis & Gundelfinger, Javier & Coto-Millán, Pablo, 2022. "The impact of logistics and intermodality on airport efficiency," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 233-239.
    10. Voltes-Dorta, Augusto & Lei, Zheng, 2013. "The impact of airline differentiation on marginal cost pricing at UK airports," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 72-88.
    11. Pavlyuk, Dmitry, 2016. "Implication of spatial heterogeneity for airports' efficiency estimation," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 15-24.
    12. Pavlyuk, Dmitry, 2012. "Airport Benchmarking and Spatial Competition: a Critical Review," MPRA Paper 43391, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Fernández, Xosé Luis & Coto-Millán, Pablo & Díaz-Medina, Benito, 2018. "The impact of tourism on airport efficiency: The Spanish case," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 52-58.
    14. Adrian Nerja, 2023. "An efficiency analysis of Spanish airports," Papers 2311.16156, arXiv.org.
    15. Randrianarisoa, Laingo Manitra & Bolduc, Denis & Choo, Yap Yin & Oum, Tae Hoon & Yan, Jia, 2015. "Effects of corruption on efficiency of the European airports," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 65-83.
    16. lo Storto, Corrado, 2018. "Ownership structure and the technical, cost, and revenue efficiency of Italian airports," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 175-193.
    17. Ripoll-Zarraga, Ane Elixabete & Raya, Josep Maria, 2020. "Tourism indicators and airports' technical efficiency," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    18. Bergantino, Angela Stefania & Intini, Mario & Volta, Nicola, 2020. "Spatial competition and efficiency: an investigation in the airport sector," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1287, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    19. Barros, Carlos Pestana, 2011. "Cost efficiency of African airports using a finite mixture model," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 807-813, November.
    20. Mehdi Shamohammadi & Yonghwa Park & Jong Hae Choi & Oh Kyoung Kwon, 2022. "Exploring the Performance of International Airports in the Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Era: Evidence from Incheon International Airport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:133:y:2026:i:c:s0969699726000086. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-air-transport-management/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.