Valuación de Activos, Tarifas e Incentivos: La base de capital en las empresas reguladas y la renegociación contractual

La determinación de la Base de Capital Regulada (BCR) constituye una de las tareas centrales en el proceso de revisión tarifaria, implicando la valuación de los activos existentes como así también de las nuevas inversiones sobre las cuales se determinará la rentabilidad de la firma regulada. La importancia del tema fue históricamente reconocida en aquellos países donde la regulación de empresas prestadoras de servicios públicos mostraba un largo historial (vgr.: EE.UU). Posteriormente el tema se vio eclipsado ante el surgimiento de la nueva teoría regulatoria donde los mecanismos introducidos priorizaron los esquemas de incentivos (vgr.: Gran Bretaña), aunque resurgió como una cuestión relevante al momento de las revisiones de tarifas. En términos generales se observan dos grandes enfoques en materia de valuación de los activos regulados: uno que trata a la BCR como activo financiero y otro que la concibe como un activo físico. El primer enfoque busca mantener el valor de la inversión en el tiempo y resulta compatible con metodologías de valuación a precios de mercado o costo histórico. El enfoque restante persigue mantener la capacidad productiva de los activos y resulta consistente con las distintas metodologías de valuación a costo de reposición. Tanto la experiencia internacional como la literatura especializada no se muestran conclusivas respecto de la conveniencia de un método de valuación en particular.Base de Capital Regulada; valor de la inversión; valuación a precios de mercado; costo histórico

Goodbye Excessive Prices… as a Competition Law Infringement in Argentina

On February 23, 2023, Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld a decision that struck down the first and only sanction made by the country’s competition agency over excessive pricing.2Following an investigation and resolution by the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (Comisión Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia, “CNDC”), the Secretary of Commerce had, in June 2018, issued a fine against the Argentinian organization that collectively manages the copyrights for music works (“SADAIC”) over their abuse of dominance in fixing the price of fees hotels must pay for installing a TV in their rooms. Furthermore, a recommendation was made to the National Executive Power (Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, “PEN”) to regulate said fees, given that existing norms did not cover them (unlike other activities, which included price caps).3On August 20, 2019, the Federal Civilian and Commercial Chamber – Chamber III – supported the recommendation to regulate hotel fees and, towards the end of August 2019, the PEN issued a decree regulating the fees charged for the public use of intellectual property of authors and performers by hotels.4 Nonetheless, the Chamber also struck down the fine. Later, the Supreme Court ultimately rejected the appeal presented by the State and upheld the decision striking down the fine in the SADAIC case.This had been the first and only case where Argentina’s competition authority had sanctioned an agent for excessive pricing. The legal test used by the competition authority was quite strict, and consistent with a comparable case upheld by the European Court of Justice. Therefore, if this case was not ratified as an exploitative abuse of dominance through excessive pricing, one must conclude that Argentina’s Law for the Defense of Competition (Ley de Defensa de la Competencia) does not consider excessive pricing to be an infraction-worthy conduct.In this article, we explain the details of the case, as well as the arguments and evidence considered by the CNDC when making their recommendations for a fine and the regulation. We then analyze the Chamber’s sentence, which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.Fil: Greco, Esteban Manuel. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Viecens, María Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Goodbye Excessive Prices… as a Competition Law Infringement in Argentina

On February 23, 2023, Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld a decision that struck down the first and only sanction made by the country’s competition agency over excessive pricing.2Following an investigation and resolution by the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (Comisión Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia, “CNDC”), the Secretary of Commerce had, in June 2018, issued a fine against the Argentinian organization that collectively manages the copyrights for music works (“SADAIC”) over their abuse of dominance in fixing the price of fees hotels must pay for installing a TV in their rooms. Furthermore, a recommendation was made to the National Executive Power (Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, “PEN”) to regulate said fees, given that existing norms did not cover them (unlike other activities, which included price caps).3On August 20, 2019, the Federal Civilian and Commercial Chamber – Chamber III – supported the recommendation to regulate hotel fees and, towards the end of August 2019, the PEN issued a decree regulating the fees charged for the public use of intellectual property of authors and performers by hotels.4 Nonetheless, the Chamber also struck down the fine. Later, the Supreme Court ultimately rejected the appeal presented by the State and upheld the decision striking down the fine in the SADAIC case.This had been the first and only case where Argentina’s competition authority had sanctioned an agent for excessive pricing. The legal test used by the competition authority was quite strict, and consistent with a comparable case upheld by the European Court of Justice. Therefore, if this case was not ratified as an exploitative abuse of dominance through excessive pricing, one must conclude that Argentina’s Law for the Defense of Competition (Ley de Defensa de la Competencia) does not consider excessive pricing to be an infraction-worthy conduct.In this article, we explain the details of the case, as well as the arguments and evidence considered by the CNDC when making their recommendations for a fine and the regulation. We then analyze the Chamber’s sentence, which was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.Fil: Greco, Esteban Manuel. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Viecens, María Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Use of indicators as a tool to measure sustainability in agroecosystems of arid land, San Juan, Argentina = Uso de indicadores como herramienta para medir la sustentabilidad en agroecosistemas de tierras áridas, San Juan, Argentina

The main objective of this study was to determine the sustainability status of three agroecosystems in arid areas, and to identify the critical aspects that limit it, through the use of economic, ecological and socio-cultural indicators. Three agroecosystems (AE) were selected from the Department of 25 de Mayo, San Juan. Its main economic activity is goat farming and, to a lesser extent, cultivation of orchards, as well as subsistence economic activities. To determine the state of sustainability, the indicators were selected and subse-quently standardized and weighted according to their relative importance with respect to sustainability. The results indicated that none of the dryland AE achieves sustainability simultaneously in its three dimensions. The systemic analysis through indicators showed that the critical variables are food self-sufficiency, water access, livestock survival, and technical assistance, among others. The methodology used is simple, allowing to detect the sustainability status of the three EAs, and to identify the critical variables that jeopardize the permanence of the AE over time.El objetivo principal de este estudio fue determinar el estado de sustentabilidad de tres agroecosistemas en tierras áridas, e identificar los aspectos críticos que la limitan, mediante el uso de indicadores económicos, ecológicos y socioculturales. Se seleccionaron tres agroecosistemas (AE) del departamento de 25 de Mayo, San Juan. Su principal actividad productiva es la producción caprina y en menor medida la producción de huerta, ambas orientadas a una economía de subsistencia. Los indicadores seleccionados se estandarizaron y ponderaron de acuerdo a su importancia relativa con respecto a la sustentabilidad. Los resultados indican que ninguno de los AE alcanza la sustentabilidad en sus tres dimensiones simultáneamente. El análisis sistémico a través de indicadores mostró que las variables críticas son la autosuficiencia alimentaria, el acceso al recurso hídrico, la supervivencia del ganado y la asistencia técnica, entre otras. La metodología utilizada fue fácil de usar, permitió detectar el estado de la sustentabi-lidad de los tres AE e identificar las variables críticas que ponen en peligro la perma-nencia de los AE en el tiempo.EEA San JuanFil: Carmona Crocco, Julieta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Agropecuarias (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Greco, Silvina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Tapia, Raúl. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Agropecuarias (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingenieria; ArgentinaFil: Martinelli, Mariana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Agropecuarias (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentin

Relevant market: A legal concept with an economic rationale. Challenges and divergences in the digital economy

El funcionamiento de la economía digital está sometiendo a revisión tanto los instrumentos como los objetivos de las políticas de competencia. La definición de mercado relevante, como herramienta analítica clave en el derecho de la competencia, no escapa a esta tendencia. En este artículo se presentan los principales desafíos que los antecedentes en las agencias de competencia y la literatura muestran al respecto. También se analizan las definiciones de mercado relevante adoptadas por agencias de competencia en dos fusiones recientes que involucran actores de la economía digital: Walmart-Cornershop y Visa-Plaid. La comparativa sobre estas decisiones evidencia la falta de convergencia en los resultados, explicada, en parte, por diferencias en las definiciones de mercado.The functioning of the digital economy is subjecting both the instruments and the objectives of competition policies to review. The definition of the relevant market, as a key analytical tool in competition law, does not escape this trend. This article presents the main challenges that the antecedents in competition agencies and the literature show in this regard. It also analyses the relevant market definitions adopted by competition agencies in two recent mergers involving players in the digital economy: Walmart-Cornershop and Visa-Plaid. The comparative analysis of these decisions shows a lack of convergence in the results, partly explained by differences in market definitions.Fil: Greco, Esteban Manuel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; ArgentinaFil: Viecens, María Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Argentina. Universidad de San Andrés; Argentin

Economía digital en América Latina: Reflexiones sobre las concentraciones económicas en la región

El artículo analiza fusiones y adquisiciones de la economía digital en América Latina, en perspectiva con la discusión internacional y las nuevas o reformuladas teorías de daño que han ido emergiendo. Se resalta la importancia del contexto regional y de no trasladar de manera automática a los países de América Latina los criterios y conclusiones de la discusión internacional. Con base en el análisis de casos de distintas agencias, se destaca que el control preventivo de fusiones en la región puede ser una herramienta que contribuya a evitar que los nuevos actores de la economía digital, que traen innovación y nuevos servicios, encuentren barreras en los incumbentes.The article analyzes mergers and acquisitions in the digital economy in Latin America, in line with the international discussion and the new or reformulated theories of harm that have been emerging. It highlights the importance of the regional context and to not automatically transfer the criteria and conclusions of the international discussion to Latin American countries. Based on the analysis of cases of different agencies, it is remarked that preventive merger control in the region can be a tool that contributes to prevent new players in the digital economy, who bring innovation and new services, from encountering barriers.Fil: Greco, Esteban Manuel. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Argentina. Lead University; Costa RicaFil: Viecens, María Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Argentina. Universidad de San Andres. Centro de Tecnología y Sociedad; Argentin

El control de Fusiones y Adquisiciones en Argentina (1999-2011): Indicadores de desempeño.

This paper presents a statistical analysis of the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) evaluated by the Argentinean competition authority, from 1999 to 2011. In particular, we analyze the evolution of the quantity of cases using different classifications and cross checks in accordance with the nature of the operations (horizontal, vertical, conglomerate), the result of the evaluation (authorization, its denial or conditioning), the economic sector affected and the duration of the procedures. The latter shows a significantly growing tendency since 2006. The analysis developed allows us to obtain quantitative indicators of the merger control and produces results and conclusions useful, both from the perspective of firms planning operations in Argentina and for the performance evaluation and design of public policies

El control de Fusiones y Adquisiciones en Argentina (1999-2011): Indicadores de desempeño.

This paper presents a statistical analysis of the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) evaluated by the Argentinean competition authority, from 1999 to 2011. In particular, we analyze the evolution of the quantity of cases using different classifications and cross checks in accordance with the nature of the operations (horizontal, vertical, conglomerate), the result of the evaluation (authorization, its denial or conditioning), the economic sector affected and the duration of the procedures. The latter shows a significantly growing tendency since 2006. The analysis developed allows us to obtain quantitative indicators of the merger control and produces results and conclusions useful, both from the perspective of firms planning operations in Argentina and for the performance evaluation and design of public policies

An axiomatic approach to finite means

In this paper we analyze the notion of a finite mean from an axiomatic point of view. We discuss several axiomatic alternatives, with the aim of establishing a universal definition reconciling all of them and exploring theoretical links to some branches of Mathematics as well as to multidisciplinary applications