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What does “Privatization” do for Efficiency? Evidence from Argentina and Brazil’s Railways

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  • Estache, Antonio
  • González, Marianela
  • Trujillo, Lourdes

Abstract

Railway restructuring and privatization has now become a mainstream policy option in many developing countries. This paper provides the first analysis of the efficiency payoffs of railway reform for a couple of developing countries, Argentina and Brazil. We track down the evolution of the performance of the private operators in both countries since reform, compare with the pre-reform performance when possible, distinguishing between the output and input sources of efficiency changes. This is done by computing the total factor productivity (TFP) of each business unit since the regulators started collecting enough data.

Suggested Citation

  • Estache, Antonio & González, Marianela & Trujillo, Lourdes, 2002. "What does “Privatization” do for Efficiency? Evidence from Argentina and Brazil’s Railways," Efficiency Series Papers 2002/10, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    • Handle: RePEc:oeg:wpaper:2002/10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rebelo, Jorge M., 1999. "Reforming the urban transport sector in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region - a case study in concessions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2096, The World Bank.
    2. Campos-Mendez, Javier & Estache, Antonio & Trujillo, Lourdes, 2001. "Processes, information, and accounting gaps in the regulation of Argentina's private railways," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2636, The World Bank.
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    5. Osama J. A. R. Abu Shair, 1997. "Privatization and Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-25374-6, December.
    6. Jeffry M. Netter & William L. Megginson, 2001. "From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 321-389, June.
    7. Ramamurti, Ravi, 1997. "Testing the limits of privatization: Argentine railroads," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(12), pages 1973-1993, December.
    8. Antonio Estache, 2001. "Privatization and Regulation of Transport Infrastructure in the 1990s'," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/43998, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    9. Javier Campos, 2013. "Air transport," Chapters, in: Mattias Finger & Torben Holvad (ed.), Regulating Transport in Europe, chapter 2, pages 36-60, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bogart, Dan & Chaudhary, Latika, 2015. "Off the rails: Is state ownership bad for productivity?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 997-1013.
    2. Antonio Estache & Sergio Perelman & Lourdes Trujillo, 2007. "Measuring Quantity‐Quality Trade‐Offs In Regulation: The Brazilian Freight Railways Case," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 78(1), pages 1-20, March.
    3. World Bank, 2007. "How to Revitalize Infrastructure Investments in Brazil : Public Policies for Better Private Participation, Volume 2. Background Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 8045, The World Bank Group.
    4. Antonio Estache & Sergio Perelman & Lourdes Trujillo, 2006. "Infrastructure Reform in Developing Economies: Evidence from a survey of efficiency measures," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/44062, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Mehdi Farsi & Massimo Filippini & William Greene, 2005. "Efficiency Measurement in Network Industries: Application to the Swiss Railway Companies," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 69-90, July.
    6. Ghulam, Yaseen, 2017. "Long-run performance of an industry after broader reforms including privatization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 745-768.
    7. Estache, Antonio & Serebrisky, Tomas, 2004. "Where do we stand on transport infrastructure deregulation and public-private partnership?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3356, The World Bank.
    8. Antonio Estache & Jose-Luis Guasch & Atsushi Iimi & Lourdes Trujillo, 2009. "Multidimensionality and Renegotiation: Evidence from Transport-Sector Public-Private-Partnership Transactions in Latin America," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 35(1), pages 41-71, September.
    9. Ronaldo Seroa da Motta & Ajax R. B. Moreira, 2015. "Efficiency and Regulation in the Sanitation Sector in Brazil," Discussion Papers 0139, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada - IPEA.
    10. Ghulam, Yaseen & Jaffry, Shabbar, 2015. "Efficiency and productivity of the cement industry: Pakistani experience of deregulation and privatisation," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 101-115.
    11. Ronaldo Seroa da Motta & Ajax R.B. Moreira, 2004. "Efficiency and Regulation in the Sanitation Sector in Brazil," Discussion Papers 1059, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada - IPEA.
    12. Mu, Rui & de Jong, Martin & Ma, Yongchi & Xi, Bao, 2015. "Trading off public values in High-Speed Rail development in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 66-77.
    13. Panagiotis Staikouras, 2004. "Structural Reform Policy: Privatisation and Beyond—The Case of Greece," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 373-398, May.

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