Aldo Gonzalez - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Aldo Gonzalez

Research paper thumbnail of Do LPG prices react to the entry of natural gas? Implications for competition policy

Energy Policy, 2021

In developing countries, the penetration of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is still high, and henc... more In developing countries, the penetration of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is still high, and hence the entry of Natural Gas (NG) networks coexists with the use of LPG by an important fraction of households. Thus, a relevant policy question is whether the number and degree of horizontal integration among NG and LPG providers has an influence on the level of retail prices. Using selfreported LPG retail prices of the largest LPG provider in Chile for the period 2013-2014, we estimate that the presence of a competing NG network generates an average decrease of LPG retail prices within the range [-2,-4%] depending on the econometric specification. Thus, since the presence of an additional competing provider (i.e., an NG retailer) has an influence on the level of prices, LPG and NG may be indeed considered as imperfect substitutes. The main policy implication of this result is that the degree of horizontal integration between both types of providers should matter and there would be room for regulatory intervention aimed at proposing remedies in order to mitigate any potential anticompetitive effect

Research paper thumbnail of Libre competencia en agua, energía y transporte: La experiencia de América Latina entre 2010 y 2020

Autoclaved aerated concrete (called Thermostone in Iraq) is one of the popular building materials... more Autoclaved aerated concrete (called Thermostone in Iraq) is one of the popular building materials that are used in various purposes in construction industries. It is factory-made material that can be moulded into blocks which can be used in framework buildings. However, these buildings are under the risk of fire since it has different cusses such as arson and electrical short circuit. It is important to find ways to improve counter such phenomenon. Therefore the objective of this paper is investigating the fire resistance performance of Thermostone with and without plastering. Five different samples were used for the test, four of them were covered with different types of plastering. Three tests were employed for this study: Compressive, absorption, and density test. For all tests, the samples were exposed to elevated temperatures from 250°C to 900°C. It was shown that the compressive strength are reduced when exposed to high temperature by up to 75%, however the air-cooled samples are less affected by approximately 15%. Furthermore, plastered samples has lower absorption rate than non-plastered ones. Finally, density decrease with heat by up 10% approximately.

Research paper thumbnail of El financiamiento de gastos generales mediante las tarifas aeronáuticas en Chile: una crítica económica

Estudios Públicos, 2006

* Partes de este artículo provienen de un estudio contratado por la Junta de Aeronáutica Civil. L... more * Partes de este artículo provienen de un estudio contratado por la Junta de Aeronáutica Civil. Las opiniones y posibles errores u omisiones contenidos en este trabajo son de exclusiva responsabilidad de los autores y en ningún caso representan la posición de la Junta de Aeronáutica Civil. Se agradece a Julia Hurtado, de Turismo Cocha, por la ayuda brindada en obtener algunos datos utilizados en este artículo.

Research paper thumbnail of El Fondo de Infraestructura de Chile

Revista Estudios de Políticas Públicas, 2018

El artículo explica la racionalidad económica detrás del Fondo de Infraestructura (FI), creado po... more El artículo explica la racionalidad económica detrás del Fondo de Infraestructura (FI), creado por ley en Chile en 2018, y las restricciones bajo las cuales este operará. El FI se constituye mediante el valor presente de los ingresos netos futuros provenientes de los cobros a usuarios de las concesiones de obras públicas, una vez que vuelvan a ser licitados. El FI opera bajo el formato de empresa pública, teniendo un giro amplio que incluye el financiamiento, operación e inversión en nuevas obras de infraestructura. Para evitar que el FI no pierda valor, debe generar utilidades en el ejercicio de su función, lo cual restringe el set de proyectos que el fondo puede ejecutar o financiar. Divergencias entre la misión del FI y el interés público pueden ocurrir en la fijación de peajes y los momentos de ampliar la infraestructura

Research paper thumbnail of Private Versus Public Antitrust Enforcement: Evidence from Chile

Journal of Competition Law and Economics, 2014

This article measures the impact of the agency responsible for enforcing competition law, in the ... more This article measures the impact of the agency responsible for enforcing competition law, in the outcome of antitrust trials in Chile. Using statistics on lawsuits since the inception of the new Competition Tribunal in 2004, we find that the involvement of the public agency increases the probability of obtaining a guilty verdict in an antitrust lawsuit by 40 percentage points. Conditional to the issuance of a verdict, the participation of the prosecutor raises the likelihood of a conviction by 38 percentage points. The results are robust to possible selection bias by the public agency. The prosecutor is inclined to takes part in cases involving sensitive markets and in accusations of collusion. The State-related character of the accused entity, in addition to its size, does not affect the probability of intervention by the prosecutor in a lawsuit.

Research paper thumbnail of Los programas de delación compensada para la persecución de los cárteles. Una revisión de la bibliografía

El Trimestre Económico, 2017

El artículo realiza una revisión de la bibliografía a nivel teórico respecto a la manera en que l... more El artículo realiza una revisión de la bibliografía a nivel teórico respecto a la manera en que los programas de amnistía o delación compensada afectan la estabilidad de los carteles y permiten su detección y disuasión. Sobre la base de las principales contribuciones, se presenta un modelo unificado que permite extraer los mensajes más relevantes de la bibliografía. Finalmente se entregan recomendaciones de política para la implementación de dichos programas.

Research paper thumbnail of Financiamiento privado de la infraestructura en América Latina y el Caribe: Chile, Perú y Uruguay como casos de estudio

El presente documento busca analizar mas alla de cuanto invertir en infraestructura, el como fina... more El presente documento busca analizar mas alla de cuanto invertir en infraestructura, el como financiar la inversion privada en infraestructura en tres paises de ALC. En particular se busca identificar nuevos jugadores que cuenten con recursos que financien inversion privada en infraestructura, como los inversionistas institucionales, y las limitaciones que impiden que la infraestructura sea una clase de activos atractiva para la inversion privada. El analisis se realiza para tres paises de la region: Chile, Peru y Uruguay. Los tres paises han mostrado un desempeno economico positivo en los ultimos anos, han tenido una significativa inversion privada en infraestructura y han innovado en los instrumentos utilizados para atraer financiamiento privado.

Research paper thumbnail of Fundamentos de los programas de delación compensada para la presecución de los carteles

El articulo realiza una revision de la literatura teorica sobre la forma en que los programas de ... more El articulo realiza una revision de la literatura teorica sobre la forma en que los programas de amnistia o delacion compensada afectan la estabilidad de los carteles y permiten su deteccion y disuasion. Sobre la base de las principales contribuciones, se presenta un modelo unificado que permite extraer los mensajes mas relevantes de la literatura y se entregan recomendaciones de politica la implementacion de dichos programas.

Research paper thumbnail of Desagregación en Banda Ancha, Regulando Oligopolios Naturales

Usando un modelo simple de diferenciación de producto se modelan distintos escenarios de desagreg... more Usando un modelo simple de diferenciación de producto se modelan distintos escenarios de desagregación, con y sin regulación de cargos de acceso. En particular, se demuestra que bajo una política de desagregación asimétrica, los beneficios de la firma que no sufre desagregación, pueden verse reducidos más que los de la firma a la que se le aplica tal medida.

Research paper thumbnail of DOES INPUT PURCHASE COOPERATION FOSTER DOWNSTREAM COLLUSION? Autores

We set up a model where two retailers compete downstream and buy their inputs from a single produ... more We set up a model where two retailers compete downstream and buy their inputs from a single producer. Retailers may collude downstream, when fixing the retail price and cooperate upstream by jointly negotiating the wholesale price with the producer. We find that purchase cooperation renders downstream collusion more likely. First it expands the range of differentiation where downstream collusion is a profitable strategy. Second it makes more stable the agreement downstream since the punishment becomes harsher due to the increase in the wholesale price coming from the breakdown of common upstream negotiation. The results are robust to a scenario of upstream price rigidity where the wholesale price cannot be immediately renegotiated after a deviation downstream has occurred.

Research paper thumbnail of Antitrust and Regulation, Complements or Substitutes? The Case of a Vertically Integrated Firm

This paper studies the interaction between regulation and antitrust. We consider a situation wher... more This paper studies the interaction between regulation and antitrust. We consider a situation where an incumbent provides access to an essential facility and competes downstream with an entrant such that the anticompetitive danger is twofold. First, abusive access charges reduce the benefits of competition and second the incumbent may engage in predatory pricing or “margin squeeze”. We show that access regulation and antitrust are complementary instruments, i.e. tighter ex-ante regulation that tends to fix lower access charge demands ex-post more antitrust monitoring aimed to deter predation.

Research paper thumbnail of Dollarization, Foreign Ownership, and Competition in the Banking Industry in Latin America

Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 2015

We estimate the correlation of foreign bank penetration and dollarization with competition in the... more We estimate the correlation of foreign bank penetration and dollarization with competition in the banking industry in sixteen Latin American countries during the period 1995-2008. We apply Boone's methodology to compute the intensity of competition. Our results suggest that in countries with an initial low level of competition, foreign ownership tends to foster rivalry among banks, whereas the opposite is true in countries with an initial high level of competition. The adoption of dollarization or a currency board, which reduces transaction costs and facilitates financial integration, has a positive correlation with competition. This is the case for Ecuador, El Salvador, and Argentina.

Research paper thumbnail of Antitrust Enforcement and the Design of Disclosure Rules. An Application to Merger Control

This article investigates how antitrust agencies should structure the disclosing of information a... more This article investigates how antitrust agencies should structure the disclosing of information about efficiency gains from interested parties (merging firms, and competitors) in merger control. We analyze the particular case of a horizontal merger with danger of foreclosure, where welfare can decrease either due to insufficient efficiency gains (efficiency defense) or due to excessive efficiency gains if the competitor exits

Research paper thumbnail of Optimal Pre-Merger Notification Mechanisms - Incentives And Efficiency Of Mandatory And Voluntary Schemes

Policy Research Working Papers, 2009

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encoura... more The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Research paper thumbnail of Subsidios cruzados en los servicios aeronáuticos y en la red aeroportuaria de Chile

Over the last 20 years, demand for air passenger transport has grown dramatically. At the same ti... more Over the last 20 years, demand for air passenger transport has grown dramatically. At the same time, the two largest domestic airlines merged and several smaller entrants exited without being able to make significant inroads. As a result, the industry is highly concentrated, with a dominant firm and a few fringe firms. This condition has generated considerable public debate about the degree of competition in the airline industry in Chile. With the purpose of contributing to the public discussion, this paper analyzes the industry from an industrial organization point of view. Specifically, the paper describes the domestic airline industry in Chile, defines the relevant market and then analyzes both the degree of concentration and entry conditions. In particular, I focus on the roles played by vertical integration, the computer reservation systems and the revenue management practice. I then evaluate self-regulation of airfares by the dominant firm and propose several public policies t...

Research paper thumbnail of The use of airport charges for funding general expenditures: The case of Chile

Journal of Air Transport Management, 2008

Chile increased boarding charges for international flights to finance campaigns for promoting the... more Chile increased boarding charges for international flights to finance campaigns for promoting the country as a tourist destination and to support a 'Fight Against Poverty' fund. We present a comparative review of airport charges in various countries around the world using a non-parametric comparative efficiency technique. The results indicate that average rates are relatively low in Chile considering traffic levels and quality of service provided. Nevertheless, financing non-airport activities from these charges may have adverse implications. It is an expensive way to finance public spending relative to alternatives and it would be more efficient if tourism promotion campaigns were funded by the industry itself. Increasing boarding charges increases travel costs which is counterproductive to the promotion of Chile as a tourist destination: among international passengers, the tourist segment is the most price-sensitive.

Research paper thumbnail of Endogenous residual claimancy by vertical hierarchies

Economics Letters, 2014

h i g h l i g h t s • We study a model of vertical hierarchies where the allocation of residual c... more h i g h l i g h t s • We study a model of vertical hierarchies where the allocation of residual claimancy is endogenous. • Residual claimancy is affected by production externalities across hierarchies. • Principals may prefer to retain a share of the surplus from production when dealing with inefficient types.

Research paper thumbnail of Vertical integration, competition and efficiency

Research paper thumbnail of Eliciting Information from Interested Parties in Merger Control

This article investigates how antitrust agencies should struc-ture the disclosing of information ... more This article investigates how antitrust agencies should struc-ture the disclosing of information about e¢ ciency gains from in-terested parties (merging …rms, and competitors) in merger con-trol. We analyze the particular case of a horizontal merger with danger of foreclosure, where welfare can decrease either due to insu¢ cient e¢ ciency gains (e¢ ciency defense) or due to exces-sive e¢ ciency gains if the competitor exits (e¢ ciency o¤ense). The …rst result is that evidence from competitors is not required unless the ex-ante market shares of the merging …rms exceed a threshold. Second, we support the role of advocacy of the par-ties. The burden of proof for the e¢ ciency defense should rest on the insiders (merging …rms) whereas the burden of proof for the e¢ ciency o¤ense should rest on outsiders (competitors). Fi-nally, it is optimal to make insiders report …rst and outsiders sec-ond and any communication among parties has to be prohibited.

Research paper thumbnail of Do LPG prices react to the entry of natural gas? Implications for competition policy

Energy Policy, 2021

In developing countries, the penetration of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is still high, and henc... more In developing countries, the penetration of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is still high, and hence the entry of Natural Gas (NG) networks coexists with the use of LPG by an important fraction of households. Thus, a relevant policy question is whether the number and degree of horizontal integration among NG and LPG providers has an influence on the level of retail prices. Using selfreported LPG retail prices of the largest LPG provider in Chile for the period 2013-2014, we estimate that the presence of a competing NG network generates an average decrease of LPG retail prices within the range [-2,-4%] depending on the econometric specification. Thus, since the presence of an additional competing provider (i.e., an NG retailer) has an influence on the level of prices, LPG and NG may be indeed considered as imperfect substitutes. The main policy implication of this result is that the degree of horizontal integration between both types of providers should matter and there would be room for regulatory intervention aimed at proposing remedies in order to mitigate any potential anticompetitive effect

Research paper thumbnail of Libre competencia en agua, energía y transporte: La experiencia de América Latina entre 2010 y 2020

Autoclaved aerated concrete (called Thermostone in Iraq) is one of the popular building materials... more Autoclaved aerated concrete (called Thermostone in Iraq) is one of the popular building materials that are used in various purposes in construction industries. It is factory-made material that can be moulded into blocks which can be used in framework buildings. However, these buildings are under the risk of fire since it has different cusses such as arson and electrical short circuit. It is important to find ways to improve counter such phenomenon. Therefore the objective of this paper is investigating the fire resistance performance of Thermostone with and without plastering. Five different samples were used for the test, four of them were covered with different types of plastering. Three tests were employed for this study: Compressive, absorption, and density test. For all tests, the samples were exposed to elevated temperatures from 250°C to 900°C. It was shown that the compressive strength are reduced when exposed to high temperature by up to 75%, however the air-cooled samples are less affected by approximately 15%. Furthermore, plastered samples has lower absorption rate than non-plastered ones. Finally, density decrease with heat by up 10% approximately.

Research paper thumbnail of El financiamiento de gastos generales mediante las tarifas aeronáuticas en Chile: una crítica económica

Estudios Públicos, 2006

* Partes de este artículo provienen de un estudio contratado por la Junta de Aeronáutica Civil. L... more * Partes de este artículo provienen de un estudio contratado por la Junta de Aeronáutica Civil. Las opiniones y posibles errores u omisiones contenidos en este trabajo son de exclusiva responsabilidad de los autores y en ningún caso representan la posición de la Junta de Aeronáutica Civil. Se agradece a Julia Hurtado, de Turismo Cocha, por la ayuda brindada en obtener algunos datos utilizados en este artículo.

Research paper thumbnail of El Fondo de Infraestructura de Chile

Revista Estudios de Políticas Públicas, 2018

El artículo explica la racionalidad económica detrás del Fondo de Infraestructura (FI), creado po... more El artículo explica la racionalidad económica detrás del Fondo de Infraestructura (FI), creado por ley en Chile en 2018, y las restricciones bajo las cuales este operará. El FI se constituye mediante el valor presente de los ingresos netos futuros provenientes de los cobros a usuarios de las concesiones de obras públicas, una vez que vuelvan a ser licitados. El FI opera bajo el formato de empresa pública, teniendo un giro amplio que incluye el financiamiento, operación e inversión en nuevas obras de infraestructura. Para evitar que el FI no pierda valor, debe generar utilidades en el ejercicio de su función, lo cual restringe el set de proyectos que el fondo puede ejecutar o financiar. Divergencias entre la misión del FI y el interés público pueden ocurrir en la fijación de peajes y los momentos de ampliar la infraestructura

Research paper thumbnail of Private Versus Public Antitrust Enforcement: Evidence from Chile

Journal of Competition Law and Economics, 2014

This article measures the impact of the agency responsible for enforcing competition law, in the ... more This article measures the impact of the agency responsible for enforcing competition law, in the outcome of antitrust trials in Chile. Using statistics on lawsuits since the inception of the new Competition Tribunal in 2004, we find that the involvement of the public agency increases the probability of obtaining a guilty verdict in an antitrust lawsuit by 40 percentage points. Conditional to the issuance of a verdict, the participation of the prosecutor raises the likelihood of a conviction by 38 percentage points. The results are robust to possible selection bias by the public agency. The prosecutor is inclined to takes part in cases involving sensitive markets and in accusations of collusion. The State-related character of the accused entity, in addition to its size, does not affect the probability of intervention by the prosecutor in a lawsuit.

Research paper thumbnail of Los programas de delación compensada para la persecución de los cárteles. Una revisión de la bibliografía

El Trimestre Económico, 2017

El artículo realiza una revisión de la bibliografía a nivel teórico respecto a la manera en que l... more El artículo realiza una revisión de la bibliografía a nivel teórico respecto a la manera en que los programas de amnistía o delación compensada afectan la estabilidad de los carteles y permiten su detección y disuasión. Sobre la base de las principales contribuciones, se presenta un modelo unificado que permite extraer los mensajes más relevantes de la bibliografía. Finalmente se entregan recomendaciones de política para la implementación de dichos programas.

Research paper thumbnail of Financiamiento privado de la infraestructura en América Latina y el Caribe: Chile, Perú y Uruguay como casos de estudio

El presente documento busca analizar mas alla de cuanto invertir en infraestructura, el como fina... more El presente documento busca analizar mas alla de cuanto invertir en infraestructura, el como financiar la inversion privada en infraestructura en tres paises de ALC. En particular se busca identificar nuevos jugadores que cuenten con recursos que financien inversion privada en infraestructura, como los inversionistas institucionales, y las limitaciones que impiden que la infraestructura sea una clase de activos atractiva para la inversion privada. El analisis se realiza para tres paises de la region: Chile, Peru y Uruguay. Los tres paises han mostrado un desempeno economico positivo en los ultimos anos, han tenido una significativa inversion privada en infraestructura y han innovado en los instrumentos utilizados para atraer financiamiento privado.

Research paper thumbnail of Fundamentos de los programas de delación compensada para la presecución de los carteles

El articulo realiza una revision de la literatura teorica sobre la forma en que los programas de ... more El articulo realiza una revision de la literatura teorica sobre la forma en que los programas de amnistia o delacion compensada afectan la estabilidad de los carteles y permiten su deteccion y disuasion. Sobre la base de las principales contribuciones, se presenta un modelo unificado que permite extraer los mensajes mas relevantes de la literatura y se entregan recomendaciones de politica la implementacion de dichos programas.

Research paper thumbnail of Desagregación en Banda Ancha, Regulando Oligopolios Naturales

Usando un modelo simple de diferenciación de producto se modelan distintos escenarios de desagreg... more Usando un modelo simple de diferenciación de producto se modelan distintos escenarios de desagregación, con y sin regulación de cargos de acceso. En particular, se demuestra que bajo una política de desagregación asimétrica, los beneficios de la firma que no sufre desagregación, pueden verse reducidos más que los de la firma a la que se le aplica tal medida.

Research paper thumbnail of DOES INPUT PURCHASE COOPERATION FOSTER DOWNSTREAM COLLUSION? Autores

We set up a model where two retailers compete downstream and buy their inputs from a single produ... more We set up a model where two retailers compete downstream and buy their inputs from a single producer. Retailers may collude downstream, when fixing the retail price and cooperate upstream by jointly negotiating the wholesale price with the producer. We find that purchase cooperation renders downstream collusion more likely. First it expands the range of differentiation where downstream collusion is a profitable strategy. Second it makes more stable the agreement downstream since the punishment becomes harsher due to the increase in the wholesale price coming from the breakdown of common upstream negotiation. The results are robust to a scenario of upstream price rigidity where the wholesale price cannot be immediately renegotiated after a deviation downstream has occurred.

Research paper thumbnail of Antitrust and Regulation, Complements or Substitutes? The Case of a Vertically Integrated Firm

This paper studies the interaction between regulation and antitrust. We consider a situation wher... more This paper studies the interaction between regulation and antitrust. We consider a situation where an incumbent provides access to an essential facility and competes downstream with an entrant such that the anticompetitive danger is twofold. First, abusive access charges reduce the benefits of competition and second the incumbent may engage in predatory pricing or “margin squeeze”. We show that access regulation and antitrust are complementary instruments, i.e. tighter ex-ante regulation that tends to fix lower access charge demands ex-post more antitrust monitoring aimed to deter predation.

Research paper thumbnail of Dollarization, Foreign Ownership, and Competition in the Banking Industry in Latin America

Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 2015

We estimate the correlation of foreign bank penetration and dollarization with competition in the... more We estimate the correlation of foreign bank penetration and dollarization with competition in the banking industry in sixteen Latin American countries during the period 1995-2008. We apply Boone's methodology to compute the intensity of competition. Our results suggest that in countries with an initial low level of competition, foreign ownership tends to foster rivalry among banks, whereas the opposite is true in countries with an initial high level of competition. The adoption of dollarization or a currency board, which reduces transaction costs and facilitates financial integration, has a positive correlation with competition. This is the case for Ecuador, El Salvador, and Argentina.

Research paper thumbnail of Antitrust Enforcement and the Design of Disclosure Rules. An Application to Merger Control

This article investigates how antitrust agencies should structure the disclosing of information a... more This article investigates how antitrust agencies should structure the disclosing of information about efficiency gains from interested parties (merging firms, and competitors) in merger control. We analyze the particular case of a horizontal merger with danger of foreclosure, where welfare can decrease either due to insufficient efficiency gains (efficiency defense) or due to excessive efficiency gains if the competitor exits

Research paper thumbnail of Optimal Pre-Merger Notification Mechanisms - Incentives And Efficiency Of Mandatory And Voluntary Schemes

Policy Research Working Papers, 2009

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encoura... more The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Research paper thumbnail of Subsidios cruzados en los servicios aeronáuticos y en la red aeroportuaria de Chile

Over the last 20 years, demand for air passenger transport has grown dramatically. At the same ti... more Over the last 20 years, demand for air passenger transport has grown dramatically. At the same time, the two largest domestic airlines merged and several smaller entrants exited without being able to make significant inroads. As a result, the industry is highly concentrated, with a dominant firm and a few fringe firms. This condition has generated considerable public debate about the degree of competition in the airline industry in Chile. With the purpose of contributing to the public discussion, this paper analyzes the industry from an industrial organization point of view. Specifically, the paper describes the domestic airline industry in Chile, defines the relevant market and then analyzes both the degree of concentration and entry conditions. In particular, I focus on the roles played by vertical integration, the computer reservation systems and the revenue management practice. I then evaluate self-regulation of airfares by the dominant firm and propose several public policies t...

Research paper thumbnail of The use of airport charges for funding general expenditures: The case of Chile

Journal of Air Transport Management, 2008

Chile increased boarding charges for international flights to finance campaigns for promoting the... more Chile increased boarding charges for international flights to finance campaigns for promoting the country as a tourist destination and to support a 'Fight Against Poverty' fund. We present a comparative review of airport charges in various countries around the world using a non-parametric comparative efficiency technique. The results indicate that average rates are relatively low in Chile considering traffic levels and quality of service provided. Nevertheless, financing non-airport activities from these charges may have adverse implications. It is an expensive way to finance public spending relative to alternatives and it would be more efficient if tourism promotion campaigns were funded by the industry itself. Increasing boarding charges increases travel costs which is counterproductive to the promotion of Chile as a tourist destination: among international passengers, the tourist segment is the most price-sensitive.

Research paper thumbnail of Endogenous residual claimancy by vertical hierarchies

Economics Letters, 2014

h i g h l i g h t s • We study a model of vertical hierarchies where the allocation of residual c... more h i g h l i g h t s • We study a model of vertical hierarchies where the allocation of residual claimancy is endogenous. • Residual claimancy is affected by production externalities across hierarchies. • Principals may prefer to retain a share of the surplus from production when dealing with inefficient types.

Research paper thumbnail of Vertical integration, competition and efficiency

Research paper thumbnail of Eliciting Information from Interested Parties in Merger Control

This article investigates how antitrust agencies should struc-ture the disclosing of information ... more This article investigates how antitrust agencies should struc-ture the disclosing of information about e¢ ciency gains from in-terested parties (merging …rms, and competitors) in merger con-trol. We analyze the particular case of a horizontal merger with danger of foreclosure, where welfare can decrease either due to insu¢ cient e¢ ciency gains (e¢ ciency defense) or due to exces-sive e¢ ciency gains if the competitor exits (e¢ ciency o¤ense). The …rst result is that evidence from competitors is not required unless the ex-ante market shares of the merging …rms exceed a threshold. Second, we support the role of advocacy of the par-ties. The burden of proof for the e¢ ciency defense should rest on the insiders (merging …rms) whereas the burden of proof for the e¢ ciency o¤ense should rest on outsiders (competitors). Fi-nally, it is optimal to make insiders report …rst and outsiders sec-ond and any communication among parties has to be prohibited.