With the data of 831 Japanese water utilities from 1999 to 2008, we used the stochastic cost frontier analysis with a true fixed-effect model in order to estimate the cost efficiency and scale economies. We found that cost inefficiency was approximately 37%. The economies of water delivery...

The paper reports the empirical results of the validation of the Stochastic Production Frontier (SPF) Model to an unbalanced panel comprising a crosssection of 8 manufacturing industries over a time span of 26 years The results provide insights on the repercussions of the macro-economic reform...

Most studies on beta estimation look at the whole universe of stocks. We focus on a small subset that consists of stocks of companies which are subject to European network regulation. This allows us to examine beta time series of individual stocks and small peer groups in great detail. Our most...

Today, the relationship between Brazil and Chile can be characterized by three aspects: i) Brazil and Chile have a bilateral relationship with a regional vocation; ii) Brazil has an integral presence in Chile; and iii) a progressive reduction in distances and an increase in connections (physical...

Russian natural gas is delivered to Western Europe by pipelines, running throughUkraine, Poland and other transit countries. We derive the bargaining power of thedifferent players along this supply chain endogenously from the architecture of thetransmission system and its possible extensions by...

This paper applies principles f rom game theory to the problem o f allocating the cost o f a shared facility, such as a pipeline. The theory o f cooperative games s t r ongl y suggest s t hat no method e x i s t s for allocating costs that wi l l achieve all major policy goals. We apply results...