The industrial organization of competition in local bus services

This article is aimed at deepening our understanding of the functioning of competition in the local bus transportation industry and to evaluate its effectiveness. It provides an overview of the competitive constraints that are at work in the industry as discussed in the economic literature, and sketches empirical tests to check whether the intuitions provided by the economists are in line with the reality of the industry.Cet article vise à approfondir notre compréhension du fonctionnement de la concurrence dans l'industrie du transport urbain. Il donne un aperçu des contraintes concurrentielles qui sont à l'œuvre dans l'industrie tel que discuté dans la littérature économique, et esquisse des tests empiriques afin de vérifier si les intuitions fournies par les économistes sont en phase avec la réalité de l'industrie

Cost of the mission of transport and delivery of printed press: theory and evidence

In the first part, we examine from a theoretical perspective how the cost of the mission of postal transport and delivery of newspapers should be defined and by which factors it is determined. In particular we show that a crucial ingredient in the determination of this cost is the variation in aggregate demand induced by an increase in the uniform transportation and delivery rate. In the second part, we empirically analyze the French print media market by modeling the existence of a reciprocal effect between the size of the readership and the amount of advertising. For this two-sided platform, we model the impact of the readership on the level of advertising demand and the intensity of advertising on the number of periodicals sold

Competition for versus in the market of long-distance passenger rail services

This paper is aimed at evaluating the net gains and trade-offs at stake in implementing the competition of the rail mode in the long distance passenger market either by means of franchise or by an open access mechanism. We simulate the outcomes of competition in and for the market using a differentiated-products oligopoly model allowing for inter- and intra-modal competition in a long distance passenger market. Specifically we first calibrate the model using data describing high speed lines in France and show that the incumbent railway operator’s strategy does not simply boil down to a short-term profit maximization (e.g., because of existing regulation or limit-pricing strategy). This yields two important results when simulating competition. First, whether it is for or in the market, the opening to competition does not guarantee a decrease in prices in favor of passengers. Second, the effects of opening up to competition for the market are relatively predictable and potentially positive, while those of opening up to competition in the market remain very uncertain

Competition for versus in the market of long-distance passenger rail services

This paper is aimed at evaluating the net gains and trade-offs at stake in implementing the competition of the rail mode in the long distance passenger market either by means of franchise or by an open access mechanism. We simulate the outcomes of competition in and for the market using a differentiated-products oligopoly model allowing for inter- and intra-modal competition in a long distance passenger market. Specifically we first calibrate the model using data describing high speed lines in France and show that the incumbent railway operator’s strategy does not simply boil down to a short-term profit maximization (e.g., because of existing regulation or limit-pricing strategy). This yields two important results when simulating competition. First, whether it is for or in the market, the opening to competition does not guarantee a decrease in prices in favor of passengers. Second, the effects of opening up to competition for the market are relatively predictable and potentially positive, while those of opening up to competition in the market remain very uncertain

Analyse Coût-Bénéfice dans un contexte de concurrence intermodale et intramodale

This study presents a methodology to evaluate the impact of a new transportation infrastructure on social welfare, taking into account both inter-and intramodal competition. The new infrastructure alters the characteristics of the transportation mode involved, entailing changes in the competition framework. We apply our methodology to a specific example : the introduction of a rail link between two German cities. We simulate the resulting changes in market equilibrium, when consumers choose a transportation mode and an operator to travel on a given city-pair. At the same time, operators strategically set prices for the types of service they provide. This approach can be used to classify investment projects in an imperfect-competition setting.Cette étude propose une approche pour évaluer l’impact d’une infrastructure de transport sur le bien-être social en tenant compte explicitement de ses effets sur la concurrence intermodale et intramodale. La réalisation d’une infrastructure particulière change les caractéristiques du mode de transport associé et donc les conditions de la concurrence. À l’aide d'un exemple, nous simulons comment une nouvelle infrastructure ferroviaire sur une liaison spécifique modifie l’équilibre du marché dans lequel les consommateurs choisissent un mode de transport ainsi qu’un opérateur pour voyager entre deux villes particulières. Simultanément les opérateurs décident de manière stratégique des prix associés aux différents services qu’ils fournissent. De là, cette approche appliquée à différents projets d’investissements permet de les classer dans un environnement de concurrence imparfaite.Vibes Catherine, Ivaldi Marc. Analyse coût-bénéfice dans un contexte de concurrence intermodale et intramodale. In: Économie & prévision, n°178-179, 2007-2-3. pp. 41-49