El objetivo de esta jornada es debatir sobre competencia, regulación e inversión dentro de la política de infraestructuras y transporte, a partir de una presentación de la política de infraestructuras en España por el Secretario de Estado de Infraestructuras y dos informes de Fedea: uno sobre competencia y regulación en el transporte de mercancías por ferrocarril y otro sobre tarificación y política de inversiones.

This paper estimates the role that technological change and car characteristics have played in the rate of fuel consumption of vehicles over time. Using data from the Spanish car market from 1988 to 2013, we estimate a reduced form equation that relates fuel consumption with a set of car characteristics. The results for the sales-weighted sample of vehicles show that energy efficiency would have improved by 32% and 40% for petrol and diesel cars respectively had car characteristics been held constant at 1988 values. However, the shift to bigger and more fuel-consuming cars reduced the gains from technological progress. Additionally, using the results of the fuel equation we show that, besides a natural growth rate of 1.1%, technological progress is affected by both the international price of oil and the adoption of mandatory emission standards. Moreover, according to our estimations, a 1% growth in GDP would modify car characteristics in such a way that fuel consumption would increase by around 0.23% for petrol cars and 0.35% for diesel cars.

The aim of this paper is to study both the private and the social desirability of a mixed bundling strategy that generates a cost savings effect. We confirm that mixed bundling is the dominant strategy for multiproduct firms, although it may give rise to a prisoner’s dilemma. Moreover, we show that mixed bundling may maximise social welfare, provided that cost savings are sufficiently high. Finally, we highlight the parametric regions where the social and the private interests coincide, and those where they do not. The recent evolution of broadband telecommunications services provides an ideal framework to apply our theoretical predictions.

February 25, 2016

The aim of this meeting is to discuss recent research in the area of transport and infrastructure economics. The meeting will focus on issues related to pricing, investment and competition, but research papers in other areas of transport economics and infrastructure analysis, both from empirical and theoretical perspectives, are also welcome. Between 10 and 12 papers will be accepted for presentation and discussion at the meeting, which will take place during a single day at the Faculty of Economics of University of Barcelona.