IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/regeco/v50y2016i3d10.1007_s11149-016-9308-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regulatory design and technical efficiency: public transport in France

Author

Listed:
  • Guillermo Díaz

    (CENTRUM Catolica Graduate Business School, PUCP)

  • Vincent Charles

    (CENTRUM Catolica Graduate Business School, PUCP)

Abstract

The provision of local public transport in France involves private and public firms and the use of incentive contracts to regulate them. We study the effect of these institutional features on the sector’s efficiency using a long panel data of firms, with a two-stage estimation procedure. First, we use nonparametric data envelopment analysis techniques to estimate input usage efficiency, following a conditional approach that controls for differences in the environments in which the firms operate. Second, we estimate semiparametric censored regressions, using fixed effects to control for unobserved sources of heterogeneity. Our results point to a differential effect of private and mixed public-private companies. In particular, having the performance of public operators as the benchmark, efficiency is relatively higher for private firms, but lower when the service is delegated to a mixed public-private firm. In the latter case, the effects diverge by contract type: when the contract is of the cost reimbursement type, performance is lower than the public firm benchmark, while for other contract types, there are no statistically significant differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Guillermo Díaz & Vincent Charles, 2016. "Regulatory design and technical efficiency: public transport in France," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 328-350, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:regeco:v:50:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11149-016-9308-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11149-016-9308-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11149-016-9308-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11149-016-9308-4?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Gagnepain & Marc Ivaldi & David Martimort, 2013. "The Cost of Contract Renegotiation: Evidence from the Local Public Sector," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2352-2383, October.
    2. Ruggiero, John, 1998. "Non-discretionary inputs in data envelopment analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(3), pages 461-469, December.
    3. Daraio, Cinzia & Simar, Leopold & Wilson, Paul, 2010. "Testing whether two-stage estimation is meaningful in non-parametric models of production," LIDAM Discussion Papers ISBA 2010031, Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences (ISBA).
    4. Karlaftis, Matthew G., 2004. "A DEA approach for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of urban transit systems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(2), pages 354-364, January.
    5. Dag Dalen & Andres Gómez-Lobo, 2003. "Yardsticks on the road: Regulatory contracts and cost efficiency in the Norwegian bus industry," Transportation, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 371-386, November.
    6. Philippe Gagnepain & Marc Ivaldi, 2002. "Incentive Regulatory Policies: The Case of Public Transit Systems in France," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 33(4), pages 605-629, Winter.
    7. repec:adr:anecst:y:1999:i:54:p:06 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Laffont, Jean-Jacques & Tirole, Jean, 1986. "Using Cost Observation to Regulate Firms," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 614-641, June.
    9. Honore, Bo E, 1992. "Trimmed LAD and Least Squares Estimation of Truncated and Censored Regression Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 60(3), pages 533-565, May.
    10. Cinzia Daraio & Léopold Simar, 2005. "Introducing Environmental Variables in Nonparametric Frontier Models: a Probabilistic Approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 93-121, September.
    11. William Roy & Anne Yvrande-Billon, 2007. "Ownership, Contractual Practices and Technical Efficiency: The Case of Urban Public Transport in France," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 41(2), pages 257-282, May.
    12. Bruno De Borger & Kristiaan Kerstens & Álvaro Costa, 2002. "Public transit performance: What does one learn from frontier studies?," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 1-38, January.
    13. Oliver Hart & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1127-1161.
    14. William Greene, 2004. "The behaviour of the maximum likelihood estimator of limited dependent variable models in the presence of fixed effects," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 7(1), pages 98-119, June.
    15. Katja Seim & Joel Waldfogel, 2013. "Public Monopoly and Economic Efficiency: Evidence from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's Entry Decisions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(2), pages 831-862, April.
    16. Oliver E. Williamson, 1976. "Franchise Bidding for Natural Monopolies -- in General and with Respect to CATV," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 7(1), pages 73-104, Spring.
    17. Kristiaan Kerstens, 1999. "Decomposing Technical Efficiency and Effectiveness of French Urban Transport," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 54, pages 129-155.
    18. Nickell, Stephen J, 1996. "Competition and Corporate Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(4), pages 724-746, August.
    19. Aragon, Y. & Daouia, A. & Thomas-Agnan, C., 2005. "Nonparametric Frontier Estimation: A Conditional Quantile-Based Approach," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 358-389, April.
    20. Ai, Chunrong & Sappington, David E M, 2002. "The Impact of State Incentive Regulation on the U.S. Telecommunications Industry," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 133-159, September.
    21. Kerstens, K., 1996. "Technical efficiency measurement and explanation of French urban transit companies," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 431-452, November.
    22. Chu, Xuehao & Fielding, Gordon J. & Lamar, Bruce W., 1992. "Measuring transit performance using data envelopment analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 223-230, May.
    23. Cazals, Catherine & Fève, Frédérique & Florens, Jean-Pierre & Simar, Léopold, 2016. "Nonparametric instrumental variables estimation for efficiency frontier," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 190(2), pages 349-359.
    24. William Roy & Anne Yvrande-Billon, 2007. "Ownership, Contractual Practices and Technical Efficiency: The Case of Urban Public Transport in France," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00107375, HAL.
    25. Cazals, Catherine & Florens, Jean-Pierre & Simar, Leopold, 2002. "Nonparametric frontier estimation: a robust approach," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 106(1), pages 1-25, January.
    26. Ruggiero, John, 2004. "Performance evaluation when non-discretionary factors correlate with technical efficiency," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(1), pages 250-257, November.
    27. Rajiv D. Banker & Richard C. Morey, 1986. "Efficiency Analysis for Exogenously Fixed Inputs and Outputs," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 34(4), pages 513-521, August.
    28. Ruggiero, John, 1996. "On the measurement of technical efficiency in the public sector," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 553-565, May.
    29. William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Kaoru Tone, 2007. "Data Envelopment Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-45283-8, June.
    30. William Roy & Anne Yvrande-Billon, 2007. "Ownership, Contractual Practices and Technical Efficiency: The Case of Urban Public Transport in France," Post-Print halshs-00107375, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marques, Rui Cunha & Pinto, Francisco Silva, 2018. "How to watch the watchmen? The role and measurement of regulatory governance," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 73-81.

    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. Andrea Boitani & Marcella Nicolini & Carlo Scarpa, 2013. "Do competition and ownership matter? Evidence from local public transport in Europe," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(11), pages 1419-1434, April.
    2. Axel Gautier & Anne Yvrande-Billon, 2013. "Contract Renewal as an Incentive Device. An Application to the French Urban Public Transport Sector," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 4(1).
    3. Amaral, Miguel, 2008. "Public vs private management of public utilities - The case of urban public transport in Europe," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 85-90, January.
    4. Cinzia Daraio & Marco Diana & Flavia Di Costa & Claudio Leporelli & Giorgio Matteucci & Alberto Nastasi, 2014. "Efficiency and effectiveness in the urban public transport sector: a critical review with directions for future research," DIAG Technical Reports 2014-14, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    5. Pestana Barros, Carlos & Peypoch, Nicolas, 2010. "Productivity changes in Portuguese bus companies," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 295-302, September.
    6. Karlaftis, Matthew G. & Tsamboulas, Dimitrios, 2012. "Efficiency measurement in public transport: Are findings specification sensitive?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 392-402.
    7. Avenali, Alessandro & Boitani, Andrea & Catalano, Giuseppe & D’Alfonso, Tiziana & Matteucci, Giorgio, 2016. "Assessing standard costs in local public bus transport: Evidence from Italy," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 164-174.
    8. Mouwen, Arnoud & van Ommeren, Jos, 2016. "The effect of contract renewal and competitive tendering on public transport costs, subsidies and ridership," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 78-89.
    9. Huang, Wencheng & Shuai, Bin & Sun, Yan & Wang, Yang & Antwi, Eric, 2018. "Using entropy-TOPSIS method to evaluate urban rail transit system operation performance: The China case," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 292-303.
    10. de Borger, Bruno & Kerstens, Kristiaan & Staat, Matthias, 2008. "Transit costs and cost efficiency: Bootstrapping non-parametric frontiers," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 53-64, January.
    11. Zhang, Chunqin & Juan, Zhicai & Luo, Qingyu & Xiao, Guangnian, 2016. "Performance evaluation of public transit systems using a combined evaluation method," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 156-167.
    12. Avenali, Alessandro & Catalano, Giuseppe & D'Alfonso, Tiziana & Matteucci, Giorgio, 2020. "The allocation of national public resources in the Italian local public bus transport sector," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    13. Luc Baumstark & Claude Ménard & William Roy & Anne Yvrande-Billon, 2005. "Modes de gestion et efficience des opérateurs dans le secteur des transports urbains de personnes," Post-Print halshs-00103116, HAL.
    14. William Roy & Anne Yvrande-Billon, 2007. "Ownership, Contractual Practices and Technical Efficiency: The Case of Urban Public Transport in France," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00107375, HAL.
    15. Daniel Albalate & Germà Bel & Joan Calzada, 2012. "Governance and regulation of urban bus transportation: Using partial privatization to achieve the better of two worlds," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(1), pages 83-100, March.
    16. Anne Yvrande‐Billon, 2006. "The Attribution Process Of Delegation Contracts In The French Urban Public Transport Sector: Why Competitive Tendering Is A Myth," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(4), pages 453-478, December.
    17. Simar, Léopold & Vanhems, Anne & Van Keilegom, Ingrid, 2016. "Unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity in nonparametric frontier estimation," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 190(2), pages 360-373.
    18. Zhang, Chunqin & Xiao, Guangnian & Liu, Yong & Yu, Feng, 2018. "The relationship between organizational forms and the comprehensive effectiveness for public transport services in China?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 783-802.
    19. Zhang, Chunqin & Juan, Zhicai & Xiao, Guangnian, 2015. "Do contractual practices affect technical efficiency? Evidence from public transport operators in China," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 39-55.
    20. Di Yao & Liqun Xu & Jinpei Li, 2019. "Evaluating the Performance of Public Transit Systems: A Case Study of Eleven Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-21, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Data envelopment analysis (DEA); Conditional efficiency measures; Two-stage efficiency analysis; Regulation; Public transport;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • L32 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Enterprises; Public-Private Enterprises
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L91 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Transportation: General

    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:kap:regeco:v:50:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11149-016-9308-4. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.