IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/retrec/v29y2010i1p60-71.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of governmental subsidies and the contractual model on the publicly-owned bus sector in Japan

Author

Listed:
  • Sakai, Hiroki
  • Shoji, Kenichi

Abstract

The publicly-owned municipal bus sector that provides local transport in Japan is in a difficult situation because of operating deficits, inefficient operations and management, and budgetary constraints of expanding subsidies, and thus, it needs to be restructured to improve efficiency. This paper investigates the impact of subsidies and contractual settings on the cost structure of the publicly-owned bus sector in Japan. A trans-log cost function has been estimated by pooling cross-sectional data of 527 observations over the time period of 1990-2006 for a cross-section of 31 publicly-owned transport companies in Japan. Our analytical results confirm that governmental subsidies to this sector negatively affect the cost structure, while the contractual model may have a positive impact. We also discuss the implications of these results for Japan's public transport policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Sakai, Hiroki & Shoji, Kenichi, 2010. "The effect of governmental subsidies and the contractual model on the publicly-owned bus sector in Japan," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 60-71.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:29:y:2010:i:1:p:60-71
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739-8859(10)00039-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    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. Mehdi Farsi & Massimo Filippini & Michael Kuenzle, 2006. "Cost Efficiency in Regional Bus Companies: An Application of Alternative Stochastic Frontier Models," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 40(1), pages 95-118, January.
    2. Cubukcu, K. Mert, 2008. "Examining the cost structure of urban bus transit industry: does urban geography help?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 278-291.
    3. Kim, Moshe & Spiegel, Menahem, 1987. "The effects of lump-sum subsidies on the structure of production and productivity in regulated industries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 105-119, October.
    4. Yukihiro Kidokoro, 2003. "The Effects of Price Regulation in Contracting out Transport Services," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 37(1), pages 111-132, January.
    5. Mizutani, Fumitoshi & Urakami, Takuya, 2002. "A private-public comparison of bus service operators," ERSA conference papers ersa02p146, European Regional Science Association.
    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. 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".
    2. Filippini, M. & Koller, M. & Masiero, G., 2015. "Competitive tendering versus performance-based negotiation in Swiss public transport," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 158-168.
    3. Maria Nieswand & Matthias Walter, 2010. "Cost Efficiency and Subsidization in German Local Public Bus Transit," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1071, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    4. Santoso, Djoen San & Yajima, Masaru & Sakamoto, Kunihiro & Kubota, Hisashi, 2012. "Opportunities and strategies for increasing bus ridership in rural Japan: A case study of Hidaka City," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 320-329.
    5. Xiaohong Chen & Xiang Wang & Hua Zhang & Jia Li, 2014. "The Diversity and Evolution Process of Bus System Performance in Chinese Cities: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-17, November.
    6. Sakai, Hiroki & Takahashi, Yoshinori, 2013. "Ten years after bus deregulation in Japan: An analysis of institutional changes and cost efficiency," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 215-225.
    7. Merkert, Rico & Mulley, Corinne & Hakim, Md Mahbubul, 2017. "Determinants of bus rapid transit (BRT) system revenue and effectiveness – A global benchmarking exercise," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 75-88.
    8. Wenqian Zou & Meichen Yu & Shoshi MIZOKAMI, 2019. "Mechanism Design for an Incentive Subsidy Scheme for Bus Transport," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-13, March.
    9. Holmgren, Johan, 2013. "The efficiency of public transport operations – An evaluation using stochastic frontier analysis," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 50-57.

    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. Maria Nieswand & Matthias Walter, 2010. "Cost Efficiency and Subsidization in German Local Public Bus Transit," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1071, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    2. Obeng, K. & Sakano, R. & Naanwaab, C., 2016. "Understanding overall output efficiency in public transit systems: The roles of input regulations, perceived budget and input subsidies," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 133-150.
    3. Lundgren, Tommy & Marklund, Per-Olov & Zhang, Shanshan, 2016. "Industrial energy demand and energy efficiency – Evidence from Sweden," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 130-152.
    4. Banfi, Silvia & Filippini, Massimo, 2010. "Resource rent taxation and benchmarking--A new perspective for the Swiss hydropower sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 2302-2308, May.
    5. 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.
    6. Mehdi Farsi & Aurelio Fetz & Massimo Filippini, 2007. "Benchmarking and Regulation in the Electricity Distribution Sector," CEPE Working paper series 07-54, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
    7. repec:cuf:journl:y:2017:v:18:i:1:valles-gimenez is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Reinhard Madlener & Carlos Henggeler Antunes & Luis C. Dias, 2006. "Multi-Criteria versus Data Envelopment Analysis for Assessing the Performance of Biogas Plants," CEPE Working paper series 06-49, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
    9. Vunjak Nenad & Davidovic Milivoje, 2014. "Cost Efficiency Of Agroindustrial Companies In Vojvodina: Dea Approach," Interdisciplinary Management Research, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Economics, Croatia, vol. 10, pages 369-376.
    10. Beria, Paolo & Grimaldi, Raffaele, 2010. "Unconventional factors of efficiency in public transport. A case study and theory," MPRA Paper 29234, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Matthias Walter, 2011. "Some Determinants of Cost Efficiency in German Public Transport," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 45(1), pages 1-20, January.
    12. Joanne Evans & Massimo Filippini & Lester C Hunt, 2011. "Measuring energy efficiency and its contribution towards meeting CO2 targets: estimates for 29 OECD countries," Surrey Energy Economics Centre (SEEC), School of Economics Discussion Papers (SEEDS) 135, Surrey Energy Economics Centre (SEEC), School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    13. Farsi, Mehdi & Filippini, Massimo, 2009. "An analysis of cost efficiency in Swiss multi-utilities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 306-315, March.
    14. Reinhard Madlener & Stefan Vögtli, 2006. "Diffusion of bioenergy in urban areas: socio-economic analysis of the planned Swiss wood-fired cogeneration plant in Basel," CEPE Working paper series 06-53, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
    15. Massimo Filippini & Lester C. Hunt, 2013. "'Underlying Energy Efficiency' in the US," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 13/181, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    16. Mehdi Farsi & Aurelio Fetz & Massimo Filippini, 2007. "Economies of Scale and Scope in Local Public Transportation," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 41(3), pages 345-361, September.
    17. Silvia Banfi & Massimo Filippini & Andrea Horehájová, 2007. "Hedonic Price Functions for Zurich and Lugano with Special Focus on Electrosmog," CEPE Working paper series 07-57, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
    18. Mehdi Farsi & Massimo Filippini, 2005. "A Benchmarking Analysis of Electricity Distribution Utilities in Switzerland," CEPE Working paper series 05-43, CEPE Center for Energy Policy and Economics, ETH Zurich.
    19. Ayadi, Ahmed & Hammami, Sami, 2015. "An analysis of the performance of public bus transport in Tunisian cities," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 51-60.
    20. Carlo Cambini & Massimiliano Piacenza & Davide Vannoni, 2007. "Restructuring Public Transit Systems: Evidence on Cost Properties from Medium and Large-Sized Companies," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 31(3), pages 183-203, November.
    21. Kumbaroglu, Gürkan & Madlener, Reinhard & Demirel, Mustafa, 2008. "A real options evaluation model for the diffusion prospects of new renewable power generation technologies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 1882-1908, July.

    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:eee:retrec:v:29:y:2010:i:1:p:60-71. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620614/description#description .

    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.