Efficiency in Water and Sanitation Sector. A Survey on Empirical Literature

In this paper, it was made an exhaustive survey of the literature related with cost and production frontiers in the water and sanitation sector. The survey shed light in order to determine the variables to choose in the model to be estimated in a further empirical estimation developed for the Latin American Region by the authorsfrontiers; water and sanitation sector; empirical estimation

Are There Cost Differences in the Argentinean Pension Fund Industry? An Efficiency Frontier Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to study the existence of differences in costs between pension fund administrators (PFAs) through the estimation of an econometric cost frontier for Argentina. Like in other eleven Latin American, and some other Central Asian and Eastern Europe countries, the social security has been privatized, and the individual accounts of defined contribution plans are managed by PFAs. The issue is relevant because of its potential regulatory implications. Cost savings (efficiency gains) could be passed-through to contributors, increasing their pension funds (that is, their pensions at retirement). The concept is applied to utilities’ regulation in countries where price-caps are applied, and an X-factor is set by the regulator to distribute the efficiency gains, but it is not the practice in privatized social security systems. In Argentina a price-cap has been introduced in pension funds markets since a 2007 reform. Though it allows the regulator to modify that cap, in doing that no provision was established for a technically acceptable methodology. We show that the use of efficiency frontiers could fill the gap, because it provides a technical tool to help in that key resource allocation decision. From the empirical work, it is found that there are important differences in efficiency among PFAs. This gives some clues to the regulator for implementing sector policies.pension fund; Efficiency Frontier Analysis

A Benchmarking Exercise on Latin American Water Util

The aim of this study is to estimate both stochastic and mathematical programming cost functions and frontier studies with the ADERASA’s database. ADERASA is a Latin American association of water regulators, which has done a systematic effort on data collection. Econometric and DEA techniques were employed here. This study fills a gap on the understanding of relative efficiency in the Latin American water sector., through a consistent database. Firstly we present a survey of the empirical literature related with cost and production frontiers in the water and sanitation sector. The survey shed light in order to determine the variables to choose in the models to be estimated. Secondly, some models were estimated, differing each other on the specification, and the environmental variables included. The results are satisfactory, with the expected signs and plausible values for the coefficients. Some consistency between methodologies was found.Benchmarking; cost functions; frontier; stochastic model; ADERASA

Relative efficiency of Argentinean airports

The main objectives of this paper are to measure the relative efficiency of Argentinean airports, and to infer possible regulatory consequences of the results. We pay attention to regional differences that could help the regulator in its task. At the same time, we try to determine which “environmental” variables (in the sense of particular conditions which are specific to different sets of airports) affect the relative efficiency of different airports. Since 1997, most of the airports were privatized, by means of concessions contracts. Of the DEA analysis we derive two broad conclusions. Firstly, significant differences in efficiency are prevalent in Argentinean airports. Secondly, best-practice calculations indicate that much of the Argentinean airports operate at a high level of efficiency during the period. Therefore, the overall conclusion is that Argentinean airports are mixed managed during the period as far as technical efficiency is concerned. Moreover, dimension makes a difference and therefore, some airports have decreasing returns to scale, while others have increasing returns to scale.efficiency; airports; Argentina

Efficiency in Saving Infant Lives: the Influence of Water and Sanitation Coverage

In this paper, we aim to assess the relationship between water and sanitation coverage and saved infant lives. Our hypothesis is that extended coverage implies measurable results in terms of reduced infant mortality. Moreover, we suspect that with the same resources, ceteris paribus, different countries can achieve better or worst results depending on the efficiency which the resources are used. We explore the policy consequences, simulating the effects that improvements in efficiency can yield in terms of the reduction in child mortality. Our approach is first to explore with a database of Latin American countries the "production function" of survivor infants on 1,000 births. Once we identify the causal relationship with an econometric model, we estimate a production frontier with Data Envelopment Analysis in order to determine the best performers: countries which can do better with the same "inputs". Finally, we simulate the consequence of catching up to the frontier in each country. The impressive quantitative results are interesting for policy concerns, since efficiency is reconciled with equity (in the sense that the winners of the coverage increases and the health improvements are the poorer).water; sanitation; health

Extreme photo-polarimetric behaviour of the blazar AO 0235+164

We present optical photo-polarimetric observations with high temporal resolution of the blazar AO 0235+164. Our data, the first to test the photo-polarimetric behaviour of this object at very short time-scales, show significant micro-variability in total flux, colour index, linear polarization degree, and position angle. Strong inter-night variations are also detected for these parameters. Although no correlation between colour index and total flux was found, our data seem to support the general bluer-when-brighter trend already known for this object. The polarization degree, in turn, shows no correlation with total flux, but a clear trend in the sense that colour index is redder (the spectrum is softer) when the measured polarization is higher.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS (Letters), 5 page

On the origin of two unidentified radio/X-ray sources discovered with XMM-Newton

We aim at clarifying the nature of the emission of two spatially related unidentified X-ray sources detected with XMM-Newton telescope at intermediate-low Galactic latitude. Observations reveal a point-like source aligned with elongated diffuse emission. The X-ray spectra are best-fitted by absorbed power laws with photon indices ~1.7 for the point-like and ~2.0 for the extended one. Both sources show nonthermal radio-continuum counterparts that might indicate a physical association. From the available data, we did not detect variability on the point-like source in several timescales. Two possible scenarios are analyzed: first, based on HI line absorption, assuming a Galactic origin, we infer a distance upper bound of <2 kpc, which poses a constraint on the height over the Galactic plane of <200 pc and on the linear size of the system of 10^32 erg/s and >7.5 x 10^32 erg/s, for the point-like and extended sources, respectively; second, an extra-Galactic nature is discussed, where the point-like source might be the core of a radio galaxy and the extended source its lobe. In this case, we compare derived fluxes, spectral indices, and spatial correlation with those typical from the radio galaxy population, showing the feasibility of this alternative astrophysical scenario. From the available observational evidence, we suggest that the most promising scenario to explain the nature of these sources is a system consisting of a one-sided radio galaxy, where the point-like source is an active galactic nucleus and the extended source corresponds to the emission from its lobe. Other possibilities include a PSR/PWN origin, where the radio/X-ray emission originates from the synchrotron cooling of relativistic particles in the PSR magnetic field or a casual alignment between two unrelated sources, such as an AGN core and a Galactic X-ray blob.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A

An inquiry into the nature of the gamma-ray source 3EG J1828+0142

The unidentified, low-latitude, $\gamma$-ray source 3EG J1828+0142 presents high levels of variability and a steep spectral index $\Gamma\sim2.7$. Here we propose a model for this source where the high-energy emission is produced by a galactic Kerr-Newman black hole. The model takes into account electron-positron annihilation losses in the calculation of the expected spectral energy distribution and can reproduce the observational features, including the absence of a strong radio counterpart. We also report the discovery of a nearby supernova remnant that could be associated with the original supernova explosion that created the black hole. Several faint radio sources were also detected in the radio field within the inner $\gamma$-ray confidence contour and their spectral index estimated. Some of these sources could be the expected weak radio counterpart.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

An analysis of a regular black hole interior model

We analyze the thermodynamical properties of the regular static and spherically symmetric black hole interior model presented by Mboyne and Kazanas. Equations for the thermodynamical quantities valid for an arbitrary density profile are deduced, and from them we show that the model is thermodynamically unstable. Evidence is also presented pointing to its dynamical instability. The gravitational entropy of this solution based on the Weyl curvature conjecture is calculated, following the recipe given by Rudjord, Gr$\varnothing$n and Sigbj$\varnothing$rn, and it is shown to have the expected behavior.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in International Journal of Theoretical Physic