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Brazilian railways separability infrastructure/operations: investigation by production indicators

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  • Francisco Gildemir Ferreira Silva

    (Economy Graduate Program of the Universidade Federal Do Ceará (Caen/UFC))

Abstract

This investigation of the scale, scope and production density of Brazilian railways engaged in freight transportation would be invaluable and the results could support verticalization measures or measures to separate operation and infrastructure as well as providing an understanding of concession performance in recent years. This article proposes a non-parametric approach using Data Envelopment Analysis—DEA—to measure scale and scope and addresses the relation of the railways’ production density, scale scope and efficiency using a system of equations, graphic analysis, simple regressions, and an automatic selection of variables. There is a perceptible, statistically significant relation of production density with scale and positive efficiency, suggesting a relation between increase in net freight per kilometer transported and efficiency gains via scale level, but the relation with economies of scope indicate the possibility of diseconomy occurring, albeit not statistically significant. Furthermore, there is heterogeneity among the production scales. The results show the need for further investigation because scale is influenced by production density insofar as the companies with the greatest production density are those with the greatest efficiency. The results are not sufficiently robust to categorically state which structure is better: verticalization or separation dilemma. However, they do point to heterogeneity of treatment among the companies.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco Gildemir Ferreira Silva, 2022. "Brazilian railways separability infrastructure/operations: investigation by production indicators," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(7), pages 1-25, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:snbeco:v:2:y:2022:i:7:d:10.1007_s43546-022-00245-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s43546-022-00245-y
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity; Efficiency; Scope; Scale; Railway;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • C67 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Input-Output Models

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