ECMT Round Tables No. 136 Estimation and Evaluation of Transport Costs

Cost data for the construction and operation of facilities are essential for the evaluation of infrastructure services supplied by private or public providers. This roundtable examines what data is needed for evaluation; which methods best measure the efficiency of service provision and benchmark providers; how regulatory regimes impact costs; and how regulators can counter the asymmetry of information as well as the incentive for data providers to selectively serve business rather than user interests.Table of Content : -Measuring Inefficiencies in Transport Systems: Between Technologies and Incentives by P. Gagnepain (Spain) and M. Ivaldi (France) -Infrastructure Maintenance Costs: A Comparison of Road, Rail, and Inland Navigation and Implications for User Charges by P. Rietveld, F. Bruinsma and M. Koetse (Netherlands) -Technical Efficiency in the Portuguese Airports with a Stochastic Cost Frontier Model by C. Barros (Portugal) -Transport Cost Levels, Productivity, and Efficiency Measures: Some Theory and Main Policy Uses by A. Estache (United States) and L. Trujillo (Spain) -List of Participants