Regulation and Incentives in European Aviation

We study the effect of liberalization on costs and competition in the European airline industry. We construct and estimate a model that includes demand, capacity, and cost equations. The latter accounts for inefficiency and cost-reducing effort. We show that failure to account for the choice of effort would lead to biased estimates of efficiency and competition in the industry. We also find that the last European Union package of deregulatory measures has led to significant efficiency improvements and has fostered competition.

The effects of airline alliances: What do the aggregate data say?

We consider an empirical model of worldwide airline alliances that we apply to a large set of companies for the period 1995-2000. Using observations at the network level, we estimate a cost, capacity, and demand system that accounts for cross-price elasticities. Our contribution consists in evaluating airlines' strategical interactions through the window of firms' network interconnections. We consider networks coincidences and potential connections with all their rivals. The results allow us to classify all company pairs as either complements or substitutes. We shed light on the fact that many airlines involved in the same alliance are potential substitutes.

Stability analysis of a grid-connected VSC controlled by SPC

In the near future a large part of traditional generation based on conventional synchronous machines (SM) will be replaced by renewable generation based on voltage source converters (VSC). In this sense, power system operators have begun to demand VSC-based power plants be able to participate in the frequency and voltage regulation, and are also interested in services like inertia emulation and damping of power oscillation, functions that today are carried out by large synchronous generators. Therefore, several studies have suggested new ways to control voltage source converters, that try to emulate the behavior of synchronous generators and are known generically as Virtual Synchronous Machines. The synchronous power controller (SPC) is a flexible solution that emulates the classical swing equation of a synchronous machine and improves its response. The SPC inherits the advantages of conventional synchronous generators, while it fixes many of its drawbacks. In this work, a sensitivity analysis of a VSC connected to the grid and controlled by SPC is performed. In this sense, a non-linear mathematical model of the system is first developed. This non-linear model is then linearized, obtaining a linear model from which the eigenvalues and sensitivities of the system to some relevant parameters are calculated. Finally, time-domain simulations are performed to confirm the results of the sensitivity analysis.Postprint (author's final draft

The Remains of Regulation: Airlines Profits After Liberalization

This paper develops an empirical model of entry to analyze the effect of previous regulation on European airlines? post-liberalization profits. The author distinguishes between European flag carriers, which are hightly regulated at the beginning of the eighties, and independent airlines. It is found that the latter enjoy sunk cost advantages but get lower variable profits than the former. This means that possible efficiency disadvantages suffered by the flag carriers are more than offset by their higher perceived quality, leading to a situation in which they are less likely to enter a route, but also less likely to exit.Airlines, profits, entry, deregulation.

Productivity Differences in the Airline Industry: Partial Deregulation Versus Short-Run Protection

The paper specifies and estimates a production function for the airline industry, identifying firms' network characteristics and efficiency as the main determinants of their productivity. The application of this analysis to the European market shows that productivity differences among flag carriers could explain the governments' different views about deregulation at the beginning of the eighties. The introduction of liberal bilateral agreements by some European government has given their flag carriers incentives to start adjusting their structure in anticipation of future liberalization in the European market while other European flag carriers have delayed this adjustment.Productivity, network characteristics, efficiency, airlines deregulation.

Carbonate Minerals’ Precipitation in the Presence of Background Electrolytes: Sr, Cs, and Li with Different Transporting Anions

Carbonate minerals are largely associated with many geological and biological environments as well as several industrial and technological processes. The crystalline characteristics of these mineral phases can be modified by background salts present in the solution due to the effect of different electrolytes on the dynamics of ion-water interactions and ionic strength during precipitation. In the current research, we studied the effect of the presence of several electrolytes (i.e., Cs, Li, and Sr), combined with chloride and carbonate as transporting anions, on the growth and mineral evolution processes of carbonate precipitation in solution. The electrolyte composition during the reaction (experimental times from 24 h up to 30 days) determined the formation of specific calcium carbonate polymorphs. The Li presence induced the formation of vaterite which was progressively transformed into calcite during the reaction time, while Cs stabilized the calcite formation. The Sr presence in the system caused the precipitation of strontianite with modifications in its cell parameters and the structural arrangement of the carbonate molecular group. During the mineral evolution considering chloride and carbonate experimental set-ups, several compositional and cell parameters/crystallinity variations of the carbonated phases were also observed. A better understanding of the relationship between the compositional properties of the aqueous solvent and the crystallization mechanisms can contribute to a deeper comprehension of the mineral precipitation and transformation in different multicomponent solutions that occur in natural environments and in controlled synthesis processesSpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, grant number PCI2019-111931-2European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)—Next Generation/EU progra

Programas para la mejora del medioambiente urbano en la ciudad de Málaga

As from 1960, Malaga grew rapidly, with its population doubling in 20 years. This rapid development took place without control and without the proper levels being established for infrastructures, urban facilities and green areas. At the same time, growth spreading to the outside of the city caused the marginalisation and deterioration of the historic city centre. When the city's growth stabilised in the early 1990s, the main objective of the municipal authorities was to achieve balanced levels for infrastructures for drainage, town planning, green areas and community facilities, whilst incorporating questions regarding the treatment of effluents and recycling of waste. The programmes for improving the urban environment began in 1995, with the end of their first phase being envisaged in 1999. They consist of putting Malaga up-to-date as a modern city, which will repair the deep wounds caused to it by the economic boom of the 60s and which is committed to the recovery of the historic centre, in which works for infrastructures, urban decongestion, refurbishment of dwellings and improvements in social services and facilities. Works have been carried out in the city as a whole for waste water treatment, for the collection of solid waste with a waste treatment plant, the renovation or construction of 5 parks, the preparation of a map of noise in the city for detecting the most problematic areas in order to modify and prevent sound pollution, as well as a campaign to make the citizens aware about environmental questions.A partir de 1960 Málaga creció de forma rápida, duplicando su población en 20 años. Este rápido desarrollo fue realizado de forma desordenada, sin el acompañamiento de unos niveles adecuados de infraestructuras, equipamientos urbanos y zonas verdes. Al mismo tiempo, el crecimiento hacia el exterior de la ciudad provoco la marginación y deterioro del centro histórico. Cuando en los primeros años 90 la ciudad estabiliza su crecimiento, el principal objetivo de la autoridad municipal es lograr unos niveles equilibrados en infraestructuras de saneamiento, urbanización, zonas verdes y equipamiento comunitario, al tiempo que incorporar cuestiones de tratamiento de aguas y reciclaje de residuos. Los programas de mejora del medio ambiente urbano se inician en 1995, teniendo prevista la finalización de su primera fase en 1999. Consisten en la puesta al día de Málaga como ciudad moderna que repara las profundas heridas que le supuso el desarrollo económico de los 60, y que apuesta por la rehabilitación del centro histórico en el que se han llevado acabo actuaciones de infraestructura, descongestión urbana, rehabilitación de viviendas y mejoras de los servicios y equipamientos sociales. En el conjunto de la ciudad se han realizado acciones de tratamiento de aguas residuales, de recuperación de residuos sólidos mediante una planta de tratamiento, de renovación o construcción de 5 parques, de elaboración de un mapa de ruidos de la ciudad para detectar los espacios mas problemáticos y tratar de modificar y prevenir la contaminación acústica, así como una campaña de sensibilización ciudadana en cuestiones ambientales