Estimation and evaluation of transport costs : report of the one hundred and thirty sixth Round Table on Transport Economics

Cost data for the construction and operation of facilities are essential for the evaluation of infrastructure services supplied by private or public providers. This roundtable examines what data is needed for evaluation; which methods best measure the efficiency of service provision and benchmark providers; how regulatory regimes impact costs; and how regulators can counter the asymmetry of information as well as the incentive for data providers to selectively serve business rather than user interests.--Publisher's description. OF DISCUSSIONS -- INTRODUCTORY REPORTS -- Measuring Inefficiencies in Transport Systems : Between Technology and Incentives by P. Gagnepain, Spain, and M. Ivaldi, France -- Introduction -- 1. The preliminary frontier -- 2. Incentives -- 3. Regulation of public transit in France -- 4. The deregulation of European airlines -- Conclusion -- Infrastructure Maintenance Costs : A Comparison of Road, Rail and Inland Navigation, and Implications for User Charges by P. Rietveld, F. Bruinsma and M. Koetse, the Netherlands -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Pricing in freight transport : base line in The Netherlands -- 3. Marginal cost pricing and its problems -- 4. User dependent infrastructure maintenance costs -- 5. Alternative pricing structures for fixed maintenance costs -- 6. Effects of alternative pricing measures on the transport sector -- 7. Conclusions -- Annex 1 : Emission factors of euro classes in road freight transport -- Annex 2 : Imposing a minimum tariff under a differentiated fixed cost charge -- Technical Efficiency in the Portuguese Airports with a Stochastic Cost Frontier Model by C. Barros, Portugal -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Institutional setting -- 3. Literature review -- 4. Theoretical framework -- 5. Data -- 6. Discussion -- 7. Contribution, limitation and extensions of this study -- 8. Conclusions -- Policy Uses by A. Estache, United States, and L. Trujillo, Spain -- 1. Introduction -- 2. What's so special about transport? -- 3. Why should policymakers care about transport costs? -- 4. From policy concerns to measures -- 5. How to decompose the sources of cost efficiency changes -- 6. From theory to practice -- 7. Concluding comments -- LIST OF PARTICIPANTS Measuring Inefficiencies in Transport Systems: Between Technologies and Incentives by P. Gagnepain (Spain) and M. Ivaldi (France) Infrastructure Maintenance Costs: A Comparison of Road, Rail, and Inland Navigation and Implications for User Charges by P. Rietveld, F. Bruinsma and M. Koetse (Netherlands) Technical Efficiency in the Portuguese Airports with a Stochastic Cost Frontier Model by C. Barros (Portugal) Transport Cost Levels, Productivity, and Efficiency Measures: Some Theory and Main Policy Uses by A. Estache (United States) and L. Trujillo (Spain) List of Participants This Roundtable Examines How Regulators Can Best Gather And Interpret Information Used To Evaluate Transport Costs.