Documents de Treball (Càtedra Pasqual Maragall d'Economia i Territori)

URI permanent per a aquesta col·leccióhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/67621

La Càtedra ha creat una col·lecció de documents de treball, iniciada el 2011, per a la publicació dels articles rebuts en els àmbits específics de la Càtedra, l’Economia Aplicada i la Política Pública.

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When are Cartels more likely to be formed or broken? The role of business cycles
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2017) García Galindo, Carmen; Borrell, Joan-Ramon; Jiménez González, Juan Luis; Ordóñez de Haro, José Manuel
The literature presents mixed contributions about the economic conditions under which cartels form and collapse, and about how stable they are across firm-specific and industry-wide business cycles. The relationship between cartel life cycles and business cycles has not been sufficiently analyzed to date. In this paper, we study in depth whether collusion is pro-cyclical or counter-cyclical. We analyze the relationship between cartel startups/breakups and economic cycles using a dataset of sanctioned cartels by the European Commission that were active between 1997 and 2012, after the leniency program had already been introduced. We also double check whether this relationship has changed with respect to the pre-leniency period from 1991 to 1996. Our results show that cartels are more likely to be formed in upturns, but that cartels tend to breakup also in booms. Upturns in economic cycles appear to cause cartel turnovers: existing cartels die while new ones are set up. Collusion appears to be pro-cyclical with respect to cartel creation, while it seems to be counter-cyclical with regard to cartel demise.
Empirical evidence on imperfect information in the parking market [WP]
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2017) Albalate, Daniel, 1980-; Gragera Lladó, Albert
Parking economics literature main attention has been paid to the cruising externality and garage market power issues, but all works assume that perfect information exists. But imperfect information may arise as (1) drivers may not know all available options in their choice set; and (2) they lack of information to evaluate them; further exacerbating already mentioned distortions. In this paper we provide compelling evidence on the existence and extent of information frictions in this market; based on the case study of Barcelona. We also test whether parkers’ lack of knowledge translates into undesirable market outcomes.
The price to park: Assessing the determinants of Garage prices and their interaction with curbside regulation
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2016) Albalate, Daniel, 1980-; Gragera Lladó, Albert
Curbside parking regulation has been widely implemented in cities around the world and increasingly they are adopting market-oriented perspectives. However, policy-makers face a complex task when they seek to foster efficiency in this market due to its intrinsic distortions (most notably, cruising in search of a parking space and garage market power). Theoretical studies stress that the right price differential between curbside and garage parking fees is critical in addressing this task; yet, the interactions between the two have received little attention to date in the literature. By drawing on a new self-constructed database for all the garages in the city of Barcelona, we empirically explore the determinants of garage prices. Our results indicate that prices are mainly influenced by fixed and variable cost drivers, the dominance position of the garage in its surrounding market and the garage’s interaction with curbside parking. In this regard, we find that prices react to the scarcity of parking spaces in the street and to the curbside price fixed by the public authority. In short, this paper stresses the importance of the interactions between the curb and off-street garages when considering policy alternatives that might establish the optimal price differential.
Myopic PPPs: Risk allocation and hidden liabilities for taxpayers and users [WP]
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2016) Bel i Queralt, Germà, 1963-; Bel-Piñana, Paula; Rosell i Segura, Jordi
Drawing on evidence from three case studies, we show how the State’s Financial Liability has worked in assigning risk in large PPP contracts in Spain. Project failure and the concessionaires’ bankruptcy have resulted in the government having to assume heavy financial obligations, which have ultimately been absorbed by taxpayers and users. In contrast, Spain’s leading construction companies, which were also major investors in the concessionaires, have been able to minimize their risk. Myopic PPPs have been entered into based on the transference of liabilities to taxpayers and users, and the, consequent, minimization of risks for the main private investors.
The Impact of Economic Liberalisation on Spanish Public Administration: Some Alarming Steps Backward
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2014) Padrós, Carlos
Economic liberalisation has an impact on the economic activity of States and on the balance between government intervention and free markets. The old national service monopolies now have to be reconciled with basic EU economic freedoms. The introduction of new regulatory techniques requires a different kind of administrative body to govern utilities. National Regulatory Agencies have been set up to guarantee that regulation is exercised on an equal basis, without discrimination in favour of the incumbents from the monopoly era. The results and achievements of liberalisation are to some extent dependent on the administrative context. In many cases, European norms stipulate particular procedures for the organisation of public administration. States are no longer free to implement EU legislation in accordance with the paradigm of institutional autonomy: independent regulatory authorities are imposed as a cornerstone of liberalisation. In this paper we analyse three recent examples in which Spain allegedly failed to fulfil its obligations as a EU member State, and contend that Spain’s current legislative reforms are at odds with European requirements.
Local Public-Services Provision under Public Private Partnershps : Contractual Design and Contracting Parties Incentives
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2011) Athias, Laure
This paper studies the incentives of the private provider, but also of the public authority, under various contractual forms of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). A critical aspect of any PPP contract is the allocation of demand risk between the public authority and the private provider. I show that contracts in which the private provider bears demand risk motivate more the public authority from responding to customer needs. This is due to the fact that consumers are empowered when the private provider bears demand risk, i.e. they have the possibility to oust the private provider in case of non-satisfaction with the service provision, which provides procuring authorities with more credibility in side-trading and then more incentives to be responsive. However, contracts in which the private provider does not bear demand risk motivate more the private provider from investing in cost-reducing efforts. I highlight then a tradeoff in the allocation of demand risk between productive and allocative efficiency. The striking policy implication of this paper would be that the current trend towards a greater resort to contracts where private providers bear little or no demand risk may not be optimal. I apply these results to understanding three famous case studies.
Market structure of urban solid waste. Different models, different results
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2012) Simões, Pedro; Carvalho, Pedro; Marques, Rui Cunha
The urban waste services in Portugal have been, historically, provided together with other services, such as water services. Despite the lack of discussion on this subject in the literature, some questions have been raised about the gains, in terms of efficiency, of this policy. Following a recent and robust partial nonparametric frontier model, based on order‐α, we intend to evaluate the presence of economies of scope and scale in the Portuguese waste sector. The results show the absence of economies of scope between waste and water (and wastewater) services. In addition, we identify the presence of economies of scale in smaller municipalities, suggesting that cooperation (or amalgamation) between these municipalities could lead to cost savings. These outcomes might be useful for policy and decisionmakers in further reforms.
Comparing Air Transport Policies for Small Remote Communities: U.S.A., Canada, Portugal, Spain and Brazil
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2013) Metrass-Mendes, Alda; De Neufville, Richard; Costa, Álvaro; Oliveira, Alessando V.M.
This paper examines the regulatory status in the aviation industry, and the efforts of the U.S.A., Canada, Portugal, Spain and Brazil to adopt air transport policies and mechanisms to provide their populations with universal accessibility. A systems engineering grounded theory approach and a cross-national case-based comparison framework are used to look at the impacts of different policies and mechanisms on the air service to small remote communities. It is found that the success of a policy design critically depends on five factors: 1) the joint support of infrastructure investment, maintenance and operations and air services; 2) governments’ ability to promote competition and protect passengers in markets where competition does not exist; 3) the operating carrier’s choice of business model, technology for thin routes, and network; 4) political interest; and 5) local participation. Based on the evaluation of policy designs and assessment of policies in five substantially different national contexts and interviews with several stakeholders, the authors provide insights and suggest recommendations in small remote air transport policy for policy makers and practitioners. The recommendations are applicable to other countries reforming their aviation industries.
Does the mixed company model provide value for money? An analysis of different local infrastucture sectors
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2011) Cruz, Nuno Ferreira da; Marques, Rui Cunha
This paper looks at the use of institutionalised public‐private partnership (PPP) arrangements by local governments for the delivery of different types of infrastructure. It starts by analysing the mixed company model from a theoretical point of view, in particular the potential for internal regulation and the achievement of relational agreements. Then, after discussing the practicalities of crafting this type of governance structure, the examination of four Portuguese case‐studies is provided. The empirical evidence on mixed companies operating in the water, waste, transportation and education sectors shows that the extreme complexity involved in the whole life‐cycle management of these companies, usually leads to poor outcomes from a social welfare point of view.
The efficiency of the European Social Fund and fiscal decentralization in Spain
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2013) González Alegre, Juan
We estimate the impact of public expenditure on Active Labor Market Policies (ALMPs) and the European Social Fund (ESF) on the employment rate using panel data from 28 European countries (1985-2011) and an alternative sample of the 17 Spanish regions (1989-2010). The estimations take into account the endogeneity of explanatory variables, the dynamic behavior of their relationship and, for the set of regional data, the spatial dependence among regions. Results support the hypothesis that expenditure in ALMPs and ESF transfers are more beneficial for employment than aggregate public expenditure. In addition, countries with larger ESF transfers observe a larger efficiency of their ALMPs and employment tends to rise as Spanish regions gain fiscal autonomy.
Costes y beneficios de unos JJOO : La excepción de Barcelona?
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2012) Pasqual i Rocabert, Joan; Serrano Robles, Eloi; Trillas, Francesc
Con posterioridad a los Juegos Olímpicos de Barcelona de 1992, han aparecido numerosos estudios que cuestionan la existencia de beneficios sociales netos una vez descontados los costes derivados de los grandes acontecimientos deportivos. En este trabajo se ofrece por primera vez, veinte años después de su celebración, un análisis de los juegos de Barcelona a la luz de estos estudios más recientes, y se ponen las bases conceptuales para un completo análisis coste-beneficio ex post de dicho proyecto. Se concluye que los juegos de Barcelona fueron en efecto excepcionales comparados con la mayoría de grandes eventos deportivos, pero que existen motivos para pensar que, al igual que en otros eventos de este tipo, se han infravalorado los costes y se han exagerado los beneficios. Otros proyectos que se plantean animados por este precedente exitoso, pero único, deberían tener esta reflexión en cuenta.
How Worried Should National Parties be About Local Corruption?
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2013) Jiménez González, Juan Luis; García Galindo, Carmen; Méndez, Christopher
An important process of decentralization has been taking place in Spain in the last few decades. This has created at least three levels of government: central, regional and local. Recent data on elections show that national parties have lost the voting race at local elections. On the other hand, at the same time as the economic boom in this country in the 2000s, there was also a boom in political corruption at the local level. Using an own-elaborated database, including municipal data from 2003-2011 in Spain, we try to evaluate whether national parties lose votes at national elections due to the wrongdoing of their local candidates. Moreover, we focus on partisan effects, split analysis in two main political parties in Spain. Our analyses yield two main conclusions: the impact is somewhat reduced, but the sign of results also depends on whether the corruption is on the right wing or the left wing.
Entry Under Quality Uncertainty: Lessons from Supermarkets
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2011) Gómez-Lobo, Andrés; Jiménez González, Juan Luis; Perdiguero, Jordi
Entry barriers in the retail sector are a frequent policy regulation in some countries. We evaluate the price effects of the entry of LIDL, a German hard discount supermarket chain, in the Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) in 2010 and only after winning a long legal battle. We first make a theoretical analysis of how an incumbent reacts when entry by a new operator is announced but does not know the level of quality the entrant will offer. We also analyze the incumbent’s pricing strategy after entry has materialized and uncertainty disappears. Secondly, we use a database obtained from a special survey for a representative sample of supermarkets in Gran Canaria to estimate how incumbents reacted to entry in the products sold and not sold by LIDL. We show that there is some evidence that prices for all goods prior to entry were initially lower in supermarkets close to the future entrant compared to supermarkets further away. However, after entry incumbents’ prices for products not sold by the entrant actually rose near the entrant’s new stores, compared to a suitable control group of supermarkets farther away.
Territory, identity, and federalist preferences: Survey and experimental evidence
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2012) Balcells, Laia; Fernández Albertos, José; Kuo, Alexander
What explains citizen preferences for redistribution across regions within a country? Around the world, countries vary greatly in how much central governments tax wealthier regions to redistribute to poorer ones in order to reduce inequality across regions. In many federations or multi-tiered polities, these issues are salient, electorally contested, and at times polarizing; they have sometimes led to demands for or attempts at secession from disaffected regions. Such issues have been politicized in wealthy countries including Belgium, Canada, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, as well as in poorer or middle-income states including Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Russia. Yet the recent growth in research on the causes and consequences of different federal arrangements and fiscal federalism have not studied in depth the roots of individual preferences over basic issues related to federal institutions and fiscal federalism. This omission is surprising given the high salience of this package of issues in such countries.
Does High-Speed Rail Generate Spillovers on Local Budgets
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2014) Hernández Vieira, Aday; Jiménez González, Juan Luis
Many developed countries have boosted investment into High-Speed Rail (HSR). This infrastructure is costly and requires high investment during the construction and operation periods, which is mainly financed with public funds. This economic effort is seldom set off, which leads to subsidies with the money collected from public debt growth or tax pressure increases. The question that immediately emerges is whether the entrance of this new infrastructure generates spillovers at the local level. In this paper, we answer this question by using local data on economic activity, unicipalities’ characteristics and local public budgets in Spain for the past decade (2001–2010). To approach to this problem, we use GIS tools and build a database to estimate the impact by considering difference-in-difference analysis. Our estimations yield a general conclusion: when HSR comes to town, both local revenues and the local fiscal gap improve by 10% and 16%, respectively. These improvements primarily affect municipalities located within 5 km of an HSR station.
Beneficios sociales de la alta velocidad ferroviaria: El papel de los accidentes y la congestión
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2012) Hernández Vieira, Aday
La inversión en infraestructuras de transporte ha de ser compensada por los beneficios sociales que ésta genera. De éstos los accidentes y la congestión en carretera son beneficios que, en ocasiones, no son estimados por falta de información o dificultad metodológica. Este trabajo presenta una aproximación empírica e indirecta que permite conocer y aislar el impacto de la alta velocidad sobre dichas externalidades. De este modo, el cálculo de los beneficios sociales derivados de la reducción de los accidentes y la congestión puede obtenerse sin la necesidad de conocer exactamente qué cantidad de tráfico se desvía de un modo a otro. Los resultados presentados para el caso español suponen que la reducción de los accidentes y la congestión representan en torno al 5% y al 0,03% de los costes totales respectivamente para el conjunto de la red. Sin ser cifras que permitan, por sí solas justificar la conveniencia social de la construcción de la infraestructura no deben, al menos ser obviadas, especialmente en el caso de los accidentes.
Endogenous determinants for renegotiating concessions: evidence from local infrastuctures
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2012) Cruz, Carlos Oliveira; Marques, Rui Cunha
There is a global trend for local governments to engage in public‐private partnerships (PPPs) to provide infrastructures and public services. Light rails, water systems, waste management, schools, sport centres, social housing, are just a few examples of sectors where the private sector is becoming more actively involved with local authorities. Most of these engagements are done through mixed companies and contractual concessions. Both suffer from a major shortcoming – renegotiations. Contracts are often renegotiated within few years after signature, and some evidence show that the results might not protect the public interest. This paper tries to understand how and why renegotiations of local concessions happen by looking at the specific characteristics of contracts (endogenous determinants). To illustrate the discussion, a case study from a light rail system is analysed, exemplifying the effect of a contractual renegotiation. The authors argue that contractual renegotiation can be useful in decreasing contract incompleteness, but a poor design of these clauses can allow for opportunistic behaviour by concessionaires.
Privatization policies by national and regional governments
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2013) Martínez-Sánchez, Francisco
In order to analyze the privatization policies undertaken by the national and regional governments, we consider a horizontal differentiation model with price competition in which a country consists of two regions of different sizes. We show that public-sector intervention by either the national or regional government is essential for achieving the social optimum, because a private duopoly does not achieve the social optimum. However, not all public interventions in firms are better than the private duopoly. On the other hand, the preferences of consumers and firms about privatization policy are completely opposite. Finally, the privatization policies of regional governments are completely opposite from one region to the other, and do not coincide with that of the national government. Overall, this paper shows that the relative size of regions is an important feature in the design of the privatization policies implemented by national and regional governments.
Do land use policies follow road construction? [WP CPM]
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2013) García López, Miquel-Àngel; Solé Ollé, Albert; Viladecans Marsal, Elisabet
We study whether local land use policies are modified in response to enhanced demand for building generated by the construction of a new highway, and examine the extent to which this mediating effect of land use regulations affects building activity. Our analysis focuses on the case of Spain during the last housing boom, 1995-2007. For this period, we assembled a new database with information about new highway segments and details about the modification of the zoning status of land in nearby municipalities. The empirical strategy compares the variation in the amount of developable land before-after the construction of the highway in treated municipalities and in control municipalities with similar pre-treatment traits, this latter group being selected using matching techniques. Our results show that, following the construction of a highway, municipalities converted a huge amount of land from rural to urban uses. The amount of land converted after the construction of the highway was greater: (i) the stronger the demand shock, and (ii) the easier it was to build out, but also (iii) the lower the amount of vacant land to start with, and (iv) the less the opposition expressed by locals. We also show that new highways have an impact on building activity.
High-Tech Employment and Transportation: Evidence from the European Regions [WP]
(Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat d'Economia i Empresa. Economia i territori. Càtedra Pasqual Maragall, 2014) Albalate, Daniel, 1980-; Fageda, Xavier, 1975-
High technology sectors are typically open to external inputs, resources, and knowledge spillovers. We study the impact of transportation, which is essential for providing external links to regional and global markets, on high- tech employment. We draw on a sample of 182 European regions for the period 2002-2010. By implementing a dynamic panel-data estimator, we find that the density of motorways and the number of air services promote employment growth, yet only the latter remains consistent. Interestingly, network carriers have a greater impact than low cost carriers. In contrast, high-speed rail does not seem to impact on employment.

El CRAI romandrà tancat del 24 de desembre de 2025 al 6 de gener de 2026. La validació de documents es reprendrà a partir del 7 de gener de 2026.

El CRAI permanecerá cerrado del 24 de diciembre de 2025 al 6 de enero de 2026. La validación de documentos se reanudará a partir del 7 de enero de 2026.

From 2025-12-24 to 2026-01-06, the CRAI remain closed and the documents will be validated from 2026-01-07.

Documents de Treball (Càtedra Pasqual Maragall d'Economia i Territori)

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El CRAI romandrà tancat del 24 de desembre de 2025 al 6 de gener de 2026. La validació de documents es reprendrà a partir del 7 de gener de 2026.

El CRAI permanecerá cerrado del 24 de diciembre de 2025 al 6 de enero de 2026. La validación de documentos se reanudará a partir del 7 de enero de 2026.

From 2025-12-24 to 2026-01-06, the CRAI remain closed and the documents will be validated from 2026-01-07.

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