Essays in competition and entry regulations

Resumo

The present dissertation analyzes the effect of entry regulations in three different sectors: electric vehicles, gasoline retail market, and, aviation market. On one hand, the retail gasoline and the airlines market have a commonly oligopoly structure, this is, those are markets characterized for having few firms competing with each other. In the case of the aviation market, there are still routes that are served by just one airline (monopoly), while in the gasoline retail market, after privatization, what remains is an industry served by few firms. On the other hand, the fast charging stations market is a rising market, which is expected to show the same structure that the other two under analysis. Thus, regulations enhancing competition are fundamental in these three activities. Chapter 2 of the dissertation contributes to the literature by answering whether is feasible or not the entry of independent firms to a market of fast charging stations without public transfers or subsidies. In particular, the study uses a game of strategic interaction to simulate entry and location of fast charging stations for electric vehicles. Chapter 3, analysis the effect of removing zoning restrictions in entry and equilibrium market price in the gasoline retail market. Chapter 4 of this dissertation, uses the open skies agreement (OSA) signed between the EU and Morocco in December 2006 to identify the effects of the liberalization of the air transport market in a middle-income developing country. Overall, the dissertation uses different econometrics methodologies including structural and non-structural models. Parametric and non-parametric techniques are used, and both estimation and simulation methods applied to micro data, to evaluate policies in force and identify possible effects of alternative public interventions.