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Airport ownership and regulation in Spain: Explaining the resistance to change

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  • Ballart, Xavier
  • Güell, Casilda

Abstract

This paper presents the case of Spain where the government recently decided to float 49% of the capital of the public agency in charge of the airport system but to keep the public control over airports. The research question is why did a conservative government prefer to keep a unified hierarchical public structure at the time it was starting to be perceived as an outmoded model? To answer this question we propose five hypothesis taken from political science and policy process theories and we confirm that ideas and beliefs within the policy subsystem together with the external shock of the 2008 economic crisis played a role in favor of policy change. However, core values of statewide political parties and political interests with regard to avoid higher territorial decentralization explain the policy reversal. Empirical results are based on the views of political and economic actors, both in favor and against the status quo, with regard to the propositions expressed in the hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ballart, Xavier & Güell, Casilda, 2015. "Airport ownership and regulation in Spain: Explaining the resistance to change," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 112-118.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaitra:v:47:y:2015:i:c:p:112-118
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2015.05.008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Serebrisky, Tomás & López Azumendi, Sebastián & Alberto Andrés, Luis, 2011. "Institutional design and governance of airport regulators: The case of Latin America," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 207-210.
    2. Germa Bel & Xavier Fageda, 2009. "Preventing competition because of 'solidarity': rhetoric and reality of airport investments in Spain," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(22), pages 2853-2865.
    3. Pierson, Paul, 2000. "Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 94(2), pages 251-267, June.
    4. Charlton, Andrew, 2009. "Airport regulation: Does a mature industry have mature regulation?," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 116-120.
    5. Yang, Xiuyun & Keat Tok, Sow & Su, Fang, 2008. "The privatization and commercialization of China's airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 243-251.
    6. Niemeier, Hans-Martin, 2002. "Regulation of airports: the case of Hamburg airport—a view from the perspective of regional policy," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 37-48.
    7. Feldhoff, Thomas, 2003. "Japan's capital Tôkyô and its airports: problems and prospects from subnational and supranational perspectives," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 241-254.
    8. Beria, Paolo & Scholz, Aaron B., 2010. "Strategies and pitfalls in the infrastructure development of airports: A comparison of Milan Malpensa and Berlin Brandenburg International airports," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 65-73.
    9. Jeremy Richardson, 2000. "Government, Interest Groups and Policy Change," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 48(5), pages 1006-1025, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Brown, Richard S., 2016. "Lobbying, political connectedness and financial performance in the air transportation industry," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 61-69.
    2. Tatiana REMENCOVÁ & Alena NOVÁK SEDLÁČKOVÁ, 2021. "Position Of Central European Regional Airports," Transport Problems, Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Transport, vol. 16(3), pages 163-172, September.

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