We estimate the standard costs in the Italian local bus transport system by means of a top down approach. Commercial speed results the most important cost driver, while economies of scale are low and only present in the case of small transport operators. Medium sized and large operators exhibit...

This paper investigates the role of off-balance sheet securitization on US bank leverage pro-cyclicality. Effective leverage (taking into account off-balance sheet securitization) is especially relevant for the US, where GAAP accounting rules for securitization allowed until 2009 a...

This article investigates how the ownership and the selection procedure of firms operating in the Local Public Transport (LPT) sector affect their productivity. In order to compare different institutional regimes, we carry out a comparative analysis of 77 companies operating in large European...