When It Comes to Container Port Efficiency, Are All Developing Regions Equal?

This paper develops a port productivity and efficiency analysis of all developing regions between 2000 and 2010, using both parametric and nonparametric approaches. From a unique dataset -our sample covers 70 developing countries, 203 ports, and 1,750 data points-, we carry out an analysis of the evolution and drivers of productivity and efficiency changes across developing regions. We show that productivity growth rates between 2000 and 2010 vary significantly and that this heterogeneity is explained by pure efficiency changes rather than scale efficiency of technological changes. Therefore, we carry out a detailed efficiency analysis to determine the drivers of port efficiency. Time series results show an upward trend for port efficiency in developing regions, as it increased from 47 percent in 2000 to 57 percent in 2010. Our analysis indicates that private sector participation, the reduction of corruption in the public sector and improvements in liner connectivity and the existence of multimodal links increase the level of port efficiency in developing regions

Benchmarking Container Port Technical Efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean

We developed a technical efficiency analysis of container ports in Latin America and the Caribbean using an input-oriented stochastic frontier model. We employed a 10-year panel with data on container throughput, port terminal area, berth length, and number of available cranes in 63 ports. The model has three innovations with respect to the available literature: (i) we treated ship-to-shore gantry cranes and mobile cranes separately, in order to account for the higher productivity of the former; (ii) we introduced a binary variable for ports using ships¿ cranes, treated as an additional source of port productivity; and (iii) we introduced a binary variable for ports operating as transshipment hubs. Their associated parameters are highly significant in the production function. The results show an improvement in the average technical efficiency of ports in the Latin American and Caribbean region from 36% to 50% between 1999 and 2009; the best performing port in 2009 achieved a technical efficiency of 94%with respect to the frontier. The paper also studies possible determinants of port technical efficiency, such as ownership, corruption, transshipment, income per capita, and location. The results revealed positive and significant associations between technical efficiency and both transshipment activities and lower corruption levels

Moeda Única no Mercosul: Uma Análise da Simetria a Choques para o Período 1995-2007

A integração monetária e financeira está de volta à agenda no Mercosul. Novos mecanismos de cooperação têm sido criados, tais como o Fundo Estrutural de Convergência (2006), o Banco do Sul (2007) e a possibilidade da utilização de pesos argentinos e reais brasileiros para a liquidação de transações internacionais. Neste novo contexto, o presente artigo avalia o potencial para uma maior integração monetária na região, considerando a entrada da Venezuela. São utilizados modelos VAR-VEC e análises impulso-resposta para avaliar a possibilidade da unificação monetária na região. Os resultados obtidos revelam uma assimetria a choques externos entre os países do Mercosul. Por decorrência, tentativas de se estabelecer uma moeda única esbarrariam em importantes dificuldades de coordenação e convergência macroeconômica.Integração Monetária, Moeda Única, Mercosul

To Share or Not to Share: Investigating the Social Aspects of Dynamic Ridesharing

Transportation network companies (TNCs) have introduced shared-ride versions of their ordinary services, such as UberPool or Lyft Line. The concept is simple: passengers pay less in fares for an incremental increase in time spent picking up and dropping off other riders. This paper focuses on the social and behavioral considerations of shared rides, which have not been explored as thoroughly as time and cost trade-offs in transportation. A survey of TNC users conducted through Mechanical Turk in June and July of 2016, which had 997 respondents across the United States, found that (a) users of dynamic ridesharing services reported that social interactions were relevant to mode choice, although not as much as traditional factors such as time and cost; (b) overall, the possibility of having a negative social interaction was more of a deterrent to use of dynamic ridesharing than the potential of having a positive social interaction was an incentive; (c) there was evidence that a substantial number of riders harbored feelings of prejudice toward passengers of different social class and race, and these passengers were much more likely to prefer having more information about potential future passengers; (d) most dynamic ridesharing users were motivated by ease and speed, compared with walking and public transportation; and (e) safety in dynamic ridesharing was an important issue, especially for women, many of whom reported feeling unsafe and preferred to be matched with passengers of the same sex

Productivity and costs in the transit sector : the impact of Baumol's cost disease

Thesis: S.M. in Transportation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2016.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 143-146).This thesis covers several topics related to transit costs, productivity, efficiency, and benefits. We first show that labor productivity growth among transit agencies in the United States is slow or stagnant, and it is significantly lower than productivity growth in most industries. According to Baumol's cost disease theory, this leads to a spiraling trend in cost escalation over time and it is a threat to long run financial sustainability. In fact, we find that transit costs increase not only above the inflation rate but above the rate predicted by Baumol's theory, which is evidence of additional compounding factors, such as the bargaining power of labor unions, and political or managerial issues. First, we extend the analysis to calculate total factor productivity, and the results validate the findings of sluggish labor productivity growth. The calculations also reveal that while productivity may grow with efficiency gains, these gain are bounded by a frontier, and, in the long run, the inherent nature of low productivity growth in the transit sector will continue to drive transit costs faster than other sectors. We also assess whether contracting out transit operations alleviates the implications of Baumol's cost disease, and the results show that in spite of lower average costs, contracted service also has significant cost escalation over the long run, evidence that the implications also apply to the private delivery of transit service. In addition, we also consider other sectors within the larger transportation industry and analyze whether productivity and costs follow the same pattern predicted by Baumol's cost disease. The results vary widely, from vehicle maintenance on the one hand (with low productivity growth and high cost increase) to automobile manufacturing on the other hand. The transit construction industry also shows signs of Baumol's cost disease, but not as severe as those for transit operations. Finally, despite the spiraling nature of transit costs, we also show that the internal and external benefits of transit tend to grow over time, which can justify higher fares and additional subsidy. Although there is no clear antidote to Baumol's cost disease, policymakers should recognize that as the economy becomes more productive and prosperous overall, it can continue to support growing levels of transit service in recognition of its growing external benefits, despite its inherent nature of stagnant productivity growth.by Javier Morales Sarriera.S.M. in Transportatio

Negociações coletivas na indústria de transformação do Rio Grande do Sul, 1996-2003

11

Rising Costs of Transit and Baumol’s Cost Disease

This paper describes analysis of whether the public transit sector suffers from Baumol’s cost disease. The evolution of labor productivity and average labor costs across transit agencies in the United States was assessed compared with other industries. It was found that (a) labor productivity in the transit sector was mostly stagnant over the period 1997 to 2013, more so in bus operations than in rail operations (0.0% and 0.7% average labor productivity growth rates, respectively), and even more so when output was measured as vehicle revenue miles rather than as passenger miles traveled; (b) the transit sector was highly labor-intensive, because it represented on average 64% of total costs (operating and capital) for bus and 40% for rail; (c) compensation per employee rose at a faster pace than inflation in 85% of the agencies analyzed; and (d) compensation per employee rose at a faster pace than the average local wage rate in 65% of the agencies analyzed. These findings support the hypothesis that not only does the transit sector suffer from Baumol’s cost disease but also that additional factors contribute to spiraling labor costs. Although no antidote to the disease is clear, policy makers should recognize that, as the economy becomes more productive overall, it can continue to support growing levels of transit service in recognition of the growing external benefits, despite the sector’s inherently stagnant productivity growth

Worse than Baumol\u27s disease: The implications of labor productivity, contracting out, and unionization on transit operation costs

Unit costs measured as bus operating costs per vehicle mile have increased considerably above the inflation rate in recent decades in most transit agencies in the United States. This paper examines the impact of (lack of) productivity growth, union bargaining power, and contracting out on cost escalation. We draw from a 17-year (1997–2014) and a 415-bus transit agency panel with 5780 observations by type of operation (directly operated by the agency or contracted out). We have three main findings: first, the unit cost increase in the transit sector is far worse than what economic theory predicts for industries with low productivity growth. Second, contracting out tends to reduce unit costs, and the results suggest that the costs savings from private operations can be only partly explained by lower wages in the private sector. Interestingly, we find that the cost savings from contracting out are larger when the transit agency also directly operates part of the total transit service. However, while overall unit costs are lower in contracted services, cost growth in large private bus operators is no different than cost growth in large public transit operators. Third, unique transit labor laws that lead to union bargaining power are a likely driver of the unit cost growth above inflation. Overall, these factors reflect inherent characteristics of the bus transit sector, such as the nature of low productivity growth and union legislative power related to the need for public subsidy. They drive increases in both transit fares and public subsidy at rates higher than inflation, and play an important role in the deterioration of transit agencies’ financial sustainability