Efficiency of airport concessions in Brazil: an integrated approach with externalities and DEA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58922/transportes.v34.e3242Keywords:
Data Envelopment Analysis, Conceded airports, Externalities, On-time performance, Atmospheric emissionsAbstract
This study evaluates the technical efficiency of 56 Brazilian concessioned airports, i.e., privately operated airports under concession, between 2018 and 2023 using output-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) with constant returns to scale (CCR) in three progressive models: purely operational (R1), with on-time performance as an additional output (R2), and with atmospheric emissions as an undesirable output (R3). Airport-year observations are stratified into four groups following an adaptation of RBAC 153. Mean efficiency rises from 0.554 in R1 to 0.837 in R3, showing that purely operational metrics underestimate airports that manage externalities. In R1, medium-sized airports (G2 and G3) outperform large hubs (G4), whose excess installed capacity depresses scores. COVID-19 reduced the share of airports on the frontier to zero in 2020. On-time performance improved relative efficiency for smaller airports, while the inclusion of emissions reversed the hierarchy, favouring large hubs through environmental economies of scale. Results are consistent with regulatory policies that integrate externalities into contractual performance metrics.
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