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We study how income inequality affects monetary policy through the inequality-household debt channel. We design a minimal macro Agent-Based model that replicates several stylized facts, including two novel ones: falling aggregate saving rate and decreasing bankruptcies during the household's debt boom phase. When inequality meets financial liberalization, a leaning against-the-wind strategy can preserve financial stability at the cost of high unemployment, whereas an accommodative strategy, i.e. lowering the policy rate, can dampen the fall of aggregate demand at the cost of larger leverage. We conclude that inequality may constrain the central bank, even when it is not explicitly targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We analyze aggregate shocks decomposition in Croatia. • Domestic shocks were dominant during the transition period. • External shocks became dominant after financial and trade liberalization in 2000. • In the short run, business cycle fluctuations are driven by domestic AS shocks. • In the medium run, fluctuations are driven by external AD shocks. This paper separates macroeconomic shocks into external and domestic aggregate demand and supply shocks in Croatia during and after the transition period using a Bayesian SVAR model. The standard decomposition into aggregate demand and supply shocks covers important information on external sources of economic fluctuations. We find that domestic shocks were a dominant source of fluctuations during the transition period from 1992 to 2000. External shocks increased their importance after 2000, becoming the dominant source of fluctuations with the Global financial crisis. International comparison with other EU post-transition countries shows that short run GDP fluctuations are best explained by domestic aggregate supply shocks in 9 out of 11 analyzed countries, including Croatia. However, in the medium run, GDP fluctuations are dominantly explained by external aggregate demand shocks in 8 out of 11 countries, including Croatia. Inflation in Croatia is driven by external shocks both in the short- and medium run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economies worldwide are carrying out financial opening reforms to regain economic momentum. However, current studies about the effect of financial opening on financial development provide conflicting results. Based on the performances of financial markets in different regulatory settings, we argue that the quality of regulation plays a vital role in determining the effect of financial opening. We apply the dynamic panel threshold model to the data of 114 economies ranging from 2008 to 2019 to estimate the existence of financial regulation thresholds and the impact of financial opening on the depth and efficiency of financial development. Results demonstrate that financial opening in less-regulated markets accelerates credit market expansion; however, it does not concurrently foster improvements in financial efficiency. Although the expansion effect is less remarkable in well-regulated markets, there is a discernible enhancement in overall efficiency. We conclude that regulatory capacity-building is a significant precondition for effective financial opening. Our research provides policy implications for enhancing regulatory quality and warning off financial "deregulation", especially for emerging economies. Policymakers are tasked with the imperative duty of achieving a delicate equilibrium between reaping the advantages of financial liberalization and mitigating the prospective hazards associated with financial deregulation. This nuanced approach holds paramount importance in nurturing a financial system that is both enduring and robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Foreign institutional ownership predicts better corporate green practices. • The effect is greater if the investors are from high-ESG countries. • Foreign investors select greener firms, not discipline firms to be greener. To address the widespread skepticism of firms' environmental commitments, we show that foreign institutional ownership can positively predict the holding firm's real green practices. Exploiting the Stock Connect Programs in China which introduces the minority ownership of foreign institutions, we show that the selected firms significantly increase holdings of green patents, R&D expenses, access to green credits, and decrease carbon emissions. The effect is more pronounced if the foreign institutional investors are from countries with higher ESG standards. Analysis based on propensity-score-matched sample suggests that foreign institutional ownership sends a signal certifying the firm's green orientation, enabling it to access more capital and improve green performance. Overall, our study proposes foreign institutional holdings as a practical indicator of selecting genuinely green stocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the conditionality in the relationship between capital flows liberalisation, macroprudential policies, and credit cycles in emerging market (EM) economies. Using quarterly data for 16 EM economies, we document the effectiveness of broad macroprudential measures in containing credit cycles in the EM economies. More importantly and in line with theory, we find that the effect of liberalisation of capital inflows on the excessive credit dynamics is conditional on the stance of the macroprudential regulation. When the macroprudential framework is tight, the liberalisation of capital inflows does not have a statistically significant effect on the excessive credit dynamics. In contrast, in economies with a lax macroprudential framework, the liberalisation of capital inflows may amplify credit expansion. The results provide a rationale to explain often conflicting findings in the earlier empirical literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies have largely debated and demonstrated the positive effect of economic liberalization on economic growth, but they have not clarified how and to which extent economic liberalization affects corporate investment, the main driver of a country's economic growth. This paper investigates the relationship between economic liberalization and corporate investment by modelling the microeconomic channels through which economic liberalization affects corporate investment. Our theoretical framework extends the standard neoclassical model of firm value maximization to incorporate the effect of economic liberalization on corporate investment via several microeconomic channels. We test the theoretical predictions of our model by using a large and heterogeneous sample of non-financial US firms for the period 2000–2019. The empirical results support our hypotheses that economic liberalization positively affects corporate investment both directly and indirectly through different channels. These effects hold, although with different intensity, for all dimensions of economic liberalization. • We investigate the relationship between economic liberalization and economic growth by modelling the microeconomics channels through which economic liberalization affects corporate investment and hence economic growth. • The theoretical predictions of the model are tested on a large and heterogeneous sample of non-financial U.S and Canadian firms over the period 2000–2019. • Empirical results suggest that economic liberalization positively affects economic growth by enhancing corporate investment via different channels or effects. • These different effects hold, although with different intensity, for many constituent components of economic liberalization/freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses and proposes a new methodological approach to construct a financial liberalization index on the basis of the dynamic factor model technique. The resulting index is used to investigate the impact of the financial sector reforms in Pakistan on economic growth. Using the Markov regime-switching model over the period 1972–2015, the empirical results showed that the examined relationship is nonlinear, nonmonotonic, state-dependent, and better described by the two-state Markov switching model characterized by the high growth regime and low growth regime. Despite the positive impact of financial liberalization on economic growth in both the high and low growth regimes, financial liberalization relatively strongly affects real GDP growth in the high growth regime. The results further demonstrate that transition probabilities establish an inordinate episode of the low growth regime. Furthermore, the high growth regime is relatively short-lived than the low growth regime. Among the other variables, trade openness and physical capital stock have a positive impact on economic growth, while labor force and government expenditure exert a negative effect on economic growth. Several economic policies are proposed and discussed for better functioning of financial sector development in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Financial liberalization and years since last regulatory reforms increase banking crisis vulnerability. • Financial liberalization- banking instability (crisis) link depends largely on the regulatory framework updating. • Regulatory delays- banking instability (crisis) relationship depends on the level of financial liberalization. • The relationship between financial liberalization and banking system vulnerability can be illustrated by a U-Shaped relationship according the number of years since last regulatory reforms. Similarly, the link between years since the last reform and banking system situation can be estimated by a U-Shaped curve depending on the level of financial liberalization. This paper aims at bringing new insights concerning the effect of financial reforms on banking system vulnerability. We show that the link between financial liberalization and banking crisis depends on the number of years since last regulatory reforms. Similarly, we show that updating regulations indirectly affect banking crisis according to the financial liberalization level. Then, we show that banking crisis can be largely explained by a gap between financial innovations and regulation update on a sample of 49 developed and developing countries from 1980 to 2010. Our empirical evidence supports that the regulatory environment is more important in developed countries as it reduces banking fragility perhaps because of highly-risky exchanged financial products. The effect of financial liberalization depends largely on the number of years since last reform. However, destabilizing effect of financial liberalization in developing countries cannot be neutralized by updating regulations and gets more obvious as regulations become older. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Uber's arrival in China has resulted in disruptive competition for incumbent taxi companies, it offers an attractive alternative in China's supply-demand-imbalanced urban passenger transport system. China's regulatory regime for Uber has evolved in three stages: from the regulatory vacuum prior to 2015 to its official legalization in 2015–2016, and the enactment of numerous local regulations in 2016, with specific and more demanding requirements for Uber. This policy is a part of the Chinese approach to the gradual liberalization of the urban passenger transport market. Policymakers should consider 'fair competition' as the guiding principle to balance the interests of sharing firms and incumbent service providers, as well as between different sharing firms. The core value of this principle lies in the benefits it provides for consumers and the way it engenders a pro-competitive market environment. The labor protection arrangements for sharing firms' laborers should be more flexible and diversified. In order to recognize whether an Uber-Driver is an employee or independent contractor, a new standard taking into account a range of factors should be established through collective negotiations between the participants of the sharing economy, and dialogues between members of the judiciary, academics, and the policymakers. Further, consumer protection law and personal data protection provisions should apply when sharing firms misuse their distinctive algorithmic management model to compete unfairly to the detriment of consumers and other users. Ex ante regulatory measures designed to protect the personal data of users should be introduced for deployment in the context of the sharing economy. When enforcing these rules, a balance should be struck ensuring free data flow that is essential to sharing firms' innovation and competition, and the need to ensure the level of data security required to underpin a well-functioning sharing society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Documents recurrent patterns of elite capture in community forestry associations. • Finds foresters and timber corporations are central actors in these processes. • Links these patterns to power fields, shaped by enduring techno-bureaucratic logics. • Neoliberalization tends to further entrench elites' power. • Shows these patterns are not unchangeable; they are also recurrently contested. Problems of elite capture continue to present challenges for sustainable and equitable forest governance around the world. Our understanding of elite capture, however, remains limited by conceptual approaches that pay insufficient attention to power in its various dimensions. Drawing on critical institutionalism and political ecology, I analyze how the power veiled in political-economic structures or 'power fields', embedded with local institutions and relations of conflict and negotiation, helps (re)produce elite power and persistence. I pay particular attention to the role of foresters as crucial yet understudied elite actors in community forestry. I employ an over-time comparative case study of processes of elite capture in four regional inter-community forestry associations (FAs) in the state of Durango, Mexico. I argue that foresters' persistent capture of FAs is related to multi-layered power inequalities and persistent democratic deficits reproduced by techno-bureaucratic forestry and authoritarian corporatist logics. At the same time, I posit that this capture is not definite but is continually transformed by social struggles and grassroots institutional innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A standard model of electricity sector reform has been prescribed in Africa. • Timing of reform is due to country need for external financing to improve efficiency. • Pace of reform is due to country autonomy from donors, particularly the World Bank. • Extent of reforms implemented is due to internal autonomy from domestic pressures. • African countries exercise agency, autonomy, and resistance to mediate global norms. Electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest amongst all regions of the world. In response, since the 1990s, the World Bank and other donors have pushed African countries to reform their electricity sectors. While a "standard model" of liberalization reforms has been endorsed, the timing, pace and extent of reform adoption and implementation undertaken by countries varies significantly. This paper asks: why do some countries adopt electricity sector reforms more quickly and more fully than others? The paper uses a comparative historical analysis of Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda to answer this question. Each country's experience with reform varies. Our study finds that the timing of reform was largely contingent on economic factors, primarily the need for financing to improve sector efficiency. The pace of reform was shaped largely by international political considerations, namely differences in the countries' reliance on aid from key donors, especially the World Bank. And the extent of reform was determined primarily by internal national political factors. Specifically, where elite decision-makers faced a historically-grounded national ideology that created citizen expectations that the state provide electricity, a competitive democratic regime, and stronger civil society, electricity sector reforms were less extensive. The paper makes an important contribution to understanding the politics of institutional change. We show how African governments exercise autonomy and resistance, both internationally with donors, and domestically, in the rewriting of institutional rules; that reforms are contingent on political calculations by national political elites about domestic conditions and needs; and that global norms are not sufficient to cause policy change. Overcoming energy poverty in Africa is expected to remain a challenge for the foreseeable future. As new development partners replace or complement the World Bank's role in African energy sectors, attention to how domestic institutions and politics engage with global norms is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper explores the diffusion of mobile telephone technology in Cameroon by identifying and analyzing the determinants of this diffusion. Studying the diffusion of mobile communications in African countries by integrating them into panels of developing countries is problematic. This approach is likely to mask the intrinsic differences as concerns the diffusion process. This survey shows, through the estimation of an S-shaped growth curve, that the Logistic model best describes the diffusion of mobile phone technology in Cameroon. Income, openness to competition and the use of SMS are key forces driving this diffusion. Forecasts indicate an increase of almost 70% in the demand by 2026 as far as mobile phone use in Cameroon is concerned. This implies not only an improvement in operators' and State's revenues, but also, the need to invest in infrastructures. Our recommendation therefore calls for a greater liberalization of the mobile phone market in Cameroon. In addition, given the complementary relationship between the core and the mobile networks, infrastructural investments are also needed in both sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study measures the degree of market power of China's railway operator and analyzes its determining factors. A newly-developed stochastic frontier method is used to estimate the Lerner indexes of the operator's 18 regional railway bureaus from 1995 to 2014. Regressions are then conducted on these indexes to identify the determining factors of market power in this industry and explain any regional heterogeneity. We find that China's railway operator exercises significant market power with an overall positive Lerner index. Furthermore, obvious regional heterogeneity in market power exists among the railway bureaus. Railway bureaus in Eastern China typically have the highest Lerner index scores, owing probably to greater regional rail demand and/or the economies of traffic density in rail operation. We find that China's dramatic high-speed rail development in recent years appears to have no effect on the overall market power of the rail operator. On the other hand, railway market deregulation, especially a series of price liberalizations in recent years, may provide railway bureaus with more autonomy to exert their market power, widening observed heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the years since liberalization, state power has been rescaled in India's polity and this is both a cause and consequence of greater inter-state competition for footloose capital. In this context, some state governments are designing special regulatory tools to attract and concentrate investments by easing 'doing business' for private investors and leveraging land resources—primarily in their largest cities. Equally important, they ensure public investments are channelled to these select spaces and that resources are available for maintaining high standards of infrastructure. In Hyderabad, the 'Industrial Area Local Authority' (IALA) is a powerful tool that allows privatised management by state and non-state actors of recently constructed productive spaces, mainly concentrating globalised service sector activities, including by collecting local tax revenues and various development charges to be spent exclusively within the industrial area. In this way, governance and fiscal functions are outsourced to non-elected bodies, outside the purview of democratic institutions. By essentially replacing municipal authorities, the IALA framework produces new forms of governance at the same time that it generates fragmentation of the institutional fabric of urban spaces. In effect, it creates a tool for by-passing urban politics, or in the case of periurban spaces does not allow an urban politics to emerge. Building on recent research, this paper examines the implications of IALAs in Hyderabad on urban governance and local state sovereignty. Highlights • Illustrates how India's largest cities are increasingly perceived as territorial assets by rescaled subnational states • Governance and fiscal functions of Hyderabad's industrial areas are outsourced to non-elected bodies via regulatory tools • Such tools produce new forms of governance and generate fragmentation of the institutional fabric of urban spaces • Enclaves and exceptional governance reconfigure territorial organisation and undercut local sovereignty and accountability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The city of Yangon is home to over 5 million people, hosts Myanmar's largest port and produces a disproportionate share of national output. But a mobility crisis is undermining the city's economic potential and contributing to a deteriorating quality of life for its residents. The most obvious symptom of this crisis is acute traffic congestion. The proximate causes are clear: growing demand for journeys, a surge in vehicle numbers, a modal shift away from buses, and myriad 'flow disruptions'. However, solving this mobility crisis requires recognizing the underlying causes, including a 'congestion incentive spiral' fuelled by rapid liberalisation of vehicle imports in a context where there are few viable alternatives to buses and private automobiles. This situation is a direct consequence of systematic failures in urban planning, investment and regulation linked to active neglect from successive military regimes and dysfunctional institutional arrangements. To preserve its rich urban heritage, Yangon will need to embrace 21st century integrated planning practices that seek to maximise accessibility and mobility for all people rather than minimise traffic congestion for those who use cars. Highlights • Yangon's economy is growing rapidly in the current context of liberalisation • Rapid growth coupled with a legacy of underinvestment and laissez-faire transport governance has resulted in acute traffic congestion • A 'congestion incentive spiral' has set in, accelerating a modal shift from widespread use of buses to increasing use of private auto transport • Acute congestion is simply the most visible symptom of a broader mobility crisis • In the short run, reviving BRT plans and encouraging cycling would improve mobility • In the long run a substantial restructuring of urban governance is required to keep the city moving [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper analyzes the role of financial crises in the financial policy reform process, including the liberalization of the financial system and the strengthening of prudential regulation. This study considers five types of financial crises and seven dimensions of financial policy reform to evaluate the comprehensive relationships between financial crises and financial policy reform by assuming a financial crisis as an endogenous variable. Our work confirms the crisis-begets-reform argument in the context of financial liberalization by showing that all types of financial crises promote financial liberalization even when possible endogeneity problems are addressed. However, financial policy reform following financial crises does not generally include the strengthening of prudential regulation. Given the argument that financial liberalization without prudential regulation often causes financial instability or crises, our findings emphasize that policy makers should pay attention not only to financial liberalization but also to prudential regulation. Moreover, the results show that the origin of a financial crisis matters when financial regulators choose the policy dimensions of financial reform. Highlights • We analyze how financial crises relate to financial policy reform process, assuming a crisis as an endogenous variable. • This study considers five types of financial crises and seven dimensions of financial policy reform. • Our work confirms the crisis-begets-reform argument in the context of financial liberalization. • However, financial policy reform does not generally include the strengthening of prudential regulation. • Policy makers should pay attention not only to financial liberalization but also to prudential regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Proxies for regulatory reforms based on categorical variables are increasingly used in empirical evaluation models. We surveyed 63 studies that rely on such indices to analyze the effects of entry liberalization, privatization, unbundling, and independent regulation of the electricity, natural gas, and telecommunications sectors. We highlight methodological issues related to the use of these proxies. Next, taking stock of the literature, we provide practical advice for the design of the empirical strategy and discuss the selection of control and instrumental variables to attenuate endogeneity problems undermining identification of the effects of regulatory reforms. Highlights • Proxies based on categorical variables are used in empirical models tracking the effects of regulatory reforms. • We survey 63 studies that rely on such indices. • We focus on entry liberalization, privatization, unbundling and independent regulation in network industries. • We discuss issues related with the use of these proxies and provide advices for the design of the empirical strategy. • We also discuss the selection of control and instrumental variables to attenuate endogeneity problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reforms currently under way in China's electricity markets bear important implications for its decarbonization objectives. The southwestern province of Yunnan is among the provinces piloting the current iteration of power market reforms. As such, lessons from Yunnan will inform future market reform and renewable energy policies in China and potentially elsewhere. The dominance of hydropower in Yunnan's energy portfolio and the particular transmission constraints it faces, offer an interesting case study of the challenges of decarbonization. We report on market architecture reforms and aggregate market data collected from the Yunnan Power Exchange. We review four elements in the reformed market architecture. Market pricing rules, transitional quantity controls, the generation rights market, and inter-provincial trade. The specifics of market reform reflect a compromise between decarbonization, inter-provincial competition, grid security and development objectives and contribute to understanding of how the dual transitions of hydropower decarbonization and market liberalization interact. We conclude on six insights regarding the role of the grid operator, security checks on trade, integration of cascade hydropower, the inclusion of renewables in the generation rights market, price controls, and market participant price uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liberalization of electricity markets and the development of renewable energy sources has led to new challenges for decision makers. These challenges are accompanied by an increasing uncertainty about future electricity price movements. The increasing amount of papers, which aim to model and predict electricity prices for a short period of time provided new opportunities for market participants. However, the electricity price literature seem to be very scarce on the issue of medium- to long-term price forecasting, which is mandatory for investment and political decisions. Our paper closes this gap by introducing a new approach to simulate electricity prices with hourly resolution for several months up to three years. Considering the uncertainty of future events we are able to provide probabilistic forecasts which are able to detect probabilities for price spikes even in the long-run. As market we decided to use the EPEX day-ahead electricity market for Germany and Austria. Our model extends the X-Model which mainly utilizes the sale and purchase curve for electricity day-ahead auctions. By applying our procedure we are able to give probabilities for the due to the EEG practical relevant event of six consecutive hours of negative prices. We find that using the supply and demand curve based model in the long-run yields realistic patterns for the time series of electricity prices and leads to promising results considering common error measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of trade openness on consumption of energy was investigated for a panel of four Andean community countries, over a period of forty-three years (from 1971 to 2014). The Arellano-Bond dynamic GMM model was used as method to realization of this investigation. The results demonstrate that the economic growth and trade openness have a positive effect on energy consumption, while the financial openness exerts a negative effect. These findings suggest that more energy conservations policies should be devised to reduce the consumption of energy by households and industries. Moreover, it is necessary more liberalization and deregulation policies that incentive the trade and economy liberalization with the intention of bring more investments in energy efficiency technologies, and access to products with high energy efficiency that reduces the consumption of energy from fossil fuels and the environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systematic integration of landscape dimension into general and sector-focused planning policies is one of the European Landscape Convention crucial points. This aspect is still poorly implemented in Italy, where landscape is often conceived as a field of action separate from the territorial context. The article presents the outcomes of a multidisciplinary research aimed at integrating landscape dimension into sector-focused policies, namely retail policies, in the Autonomous Province of Trento (Trentino-Alto Adige Region, Italy). The local government recently reformed its territorial retail development policies so as to comply with European reform regulations and with national decrees regulating the programming of services. It implemented the sector’s liberalization, but it did not give up the territorial planning and the conservation of the landscape values. In this context, a research was developed to evaluate retail development scenarios, and, more specifically, the opportunity to plan a Gross Leasable Area of territorial relevance. Two methods were used: an indicator matrix to assess landscape quality and a mathematical model to assess population mobility preferences among retail structures. This integrated evaluation approach allowed to highlight both the “rights of the landscape” and those of potential buyers. The outcomes of the research have been recently adopted by the APT regulatory framework on retail planning. The evaluation process actually acted as a process of collective learning, supporting political decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing rail liberalisation process in European Union is presently considered as a credible model for rail transport development for Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The paper reviews background and literature on rail liberalisation policy in European Union (EU), ASEAN and Thailand. Since Thailand is now facing a fast approaching rail reform initiative the paper shows an example of how the rail sector reform might be tackled at the very beginning, starting from analysing various rail models, identifying the knowledge of existing actors and the environment where these reforms need to be implemented. Three case studies of different EU liberalisation models, as adopted in the United Kingdom, Germany and France, are presented. Next, the perception of 18 Thai policy makers and 15 Thai academics toward rail liberalisation implementation in Thailand is examined based on the data collected via a questionnaire. The findings of the study indicated that rail liberalisation could be applied to solve some of the key problems of railway sector in Thailand and some other ASEAN countries. Statistical analyses of the results emphasize the differences between the opinions of the policy makers and the academic experts, where for example the majority of the first group is split between the partial separated rail model (33.3%) or none of the three models’ (33.3%) analysed while the majority in the second group prefers the integrated rail model (66.7%) as an option for Thailand. The findings suggest that Thai rail transport problems should be solved by knowledge exchange, dialogue and integration between professional and academic views. Similar to several prior studies, it is recognised that there is no one solution that will fit all the countries involved in restructuring of national railways. However, this study has identified the possibility that, according to the opinions of the experts surveyed, the combination of an integrated model and regulatory body under the ministry could potentially be applied in a Thailand’s context. In addition, this research also suggests application of several practices, such as introduction of assessment indicators and supporting policies and consideration of possible obstacles to the further development of rail market in Thailand. Moreover, the results of the study could be applied in ASEAN and any other developing country with a similar context, e.g. in Africa (Kenya) or South America (Brazil). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The aim of this paper is to discuss the impact of recent regulatory changes in air passenger transport between Europe and Africa. We quantify the impacts of liberalisation of the EU-Africa aviation market on air fare and service frequency using a two-stage least squares model approach. The analysis shows that inter-continental air services between Europe and Africa are mainly governed by bilateral agreements negotiated between the individual countries of the EU and the various African governments. Compared to the developments in the links between Africa and the rest of the world, the EU-Africa market appears to be losing momentum. The results of the econometric model suggest that EU-Africa routes which experienced liberalisation over the period 2002 and 2016 had 28% higher departure frequency and 14% lower fares than those routes without such a regime change. Furthermore, the results show that the presence of a low-cost carrier reduces fare by 31%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The main purpose of this study is to investigate the interaction between financial liberalization, banking crisis and economic growth by taking into consideration the role of institutions. Our sample covers 15 Middle East and North African observed during the period 2000–2013. Using a dynamic panel data framework, our findings reveal that financial liberalization contributed to improve economic growth in MENA countries while banking crisis had harmful effects on MENA economies. The quality of institutions did not have a clear impact except for rule and order and democratic institution. These results have important policy implications. To grow output and avoid the occurrence of banking crisis, MENA countries should reinforce their institutions quality by adopting good practice of governance and regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across many developing countries, the power sector persistently underperforms despite years of market reform efforts. India, where de facto responsibility for the power sector rests with subnational (state) governments, provides a useful laboratory to examine why. The state of West Bengal provides an example of public sector reform as an alternative to the so-called “World Bank template” for electricity liberalization, and a lens on the political preconditions for reform success. Drawing on 30 elite interviews in 2016 alongside comparative evidence from other Indian states, this article documents the reform design and assesses its success. West Bengal’s reforms aimed at internally strengthening the utility against political interference. The study finds that this reform model delivered initial performance among the best of any Indian utility, and that successful reforms in several other states were also more statist than often recognized. However, longer-term sustainability remains challenging. While weak rural lobbies had some effect, the study explains this trajectory as the result of the transition from one-party dominance to intensified party-political competition, a finding that resonates with evidence from other Indian states. In contrast to influential political theories developed in the Global North, this suggests that party-political competition does not make Indian politicians more likely to deliver public services, but rather leads to short-termism and political capture of utilities. Conversely, under some conditions one-party dominance can encourage longer-term reforms. The study thus assesses the promise and limits of public sector reforms as an alternative to liberalization, and suggests how electoral competition can influence development priorities in Indian states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates smart city (SC) initiatives in the context of re-using vacant property, focusing on the role of living labs (LL). LL utilise Lo-Fi technologies to foster local digital innovation and support community-focused civic hacking, running various kinds of workshops and engaging with local citizens to co-create digital interventions and apps aimed at ‘solving’ local issues. Five approaches to LL are outlined and discussed in relation to vacancy and gentrification: pop-up initiatives, university-led activities, community organised venues/activities, citizen sensing and crowdsourcing, and tech-led regeneration initiatives. Notwithstanding the potential for generating temporary and independent spaces for transferring digital competences and increasing citizens' participation in the SC, we argue LL foster largely a form of participation framed within a model of civic stewardship for ‘smart citizens’. While presented as horizontal, open, and participative, LL and civic hacking are rooted often in pragmatic and paternalistic discourses and practices related to the production of a creative economy and a technocratic version of SC. As such, by encouraging a particular kind of re-use of vacant space, LLs are used actively to bolster the Smart City discourse, as part of the more general neoliberalization of urban political economy. We discuss these approaches and issues generally, drawing on previous fieldwork and with respect to a case study of Dublin, Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity price forecasting is a mature research area, with various techniques already developed in recent years to help both generators and retailers hedge against price and load associated risks. This paper aims to add on to the forecasting literature, with emphasis on the importance of making such forecasts transparent to facilitate countries' transitions towards more liberalised retail electricity markets. We conduct univariate forecasting of Singapore's weekly wholesale electricity prices with the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models, complimented with the use of Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) models and their variants to account for volatility. Results show that our models reasonably emulate the price trends based on out of sample forecasts. The magnitude of expected future weekly price spikes may be estimated to a reasonable extent based on historical price outages, determined exogenously in the model. These forecasts can thus serve as possible references to retail players in a competitive market for all parties to make more informed decisions before participating in the open market. This is especially important for smaller consumers of electricity who are typically last to be exposed to retail choices. Adequate knowledge of prices will be necessary to increase desired switching rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the implementation of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect in China, this paper examines the effects of financial liberalization on stock market comovement using both multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) and multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA) methods. Results based on MF-DFA confirm the multifractality of Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets, and the market efficiency of Shanghai stock market increased after the implementation of this connect program. Besides, analysis based on MF-DCCA has verified the existence of persistent cross-correlation between Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets, and the cross-correlation gets stronger after the launch of this liberalization program. Finally, we find that fat-tail distribution is the main source of multifractality in the cross-correlations before the stock connect program, while long-range correlation contributes to the multifractality after this program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children are critical to debates about drug law reform. For both advocates of liberalisation and, especially, defenders of prohibition, the protection of children is an important rhetorical device in pressing for, or resisting, change. However, the privileged position of minors within such discussions, or talk about drugs in general, has rarely been explored in any depth in either drug and alcohol studies or legal research. Drawing on scholarship on performativity, and particularly John Law’s work on ‘collateral realities’, this article will consider how constructs such as childhood and drugs are ‘produced’ and ‘(re)made’ in such discourses. Through analysis of legal measures, policy documents/statements submitted to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) in 2016, and scientific discussion, it will be argued that such 'realities' include the constitution of the child as the logical victim of drugs (and the natural beneficiary or casualty of reform), and the enactment of drugs as an inherent threat to children. It is suggested that drug policy research needs to pay attention to age as a social construct and cultural category, and that a critical awareness of the relevance of age in policy discourse is as necessary as, for example, race, class or gender. Moreover, attendance to the ontological politics of constructs such as ‘childhood’ and ‘drugs’ is important if law and policy measures are to account for young people’s agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite growth in research on air transport in Africa in recent years, little is known about the adequacy of the infrastructure to sustain potential future air traffic expansion. The continent has experienced growth in domestic, intra- and inter-continental air traffic services over the past two decades that we project will continue over the medium term. Applying a gravity model in which corruption, conflict, common language and land-locked indices contribute to the demand estimation, we forecast annual intra-African growth of 8.1% up to 2030. As witnessed in established markets, deregulation will likely result in hub-spoke network designs in order to accommodate demand efficiently if mobility and access is to be encouraged. In this research, we modify the p -hub median problem in order to identify multiple, economically viable, hub-spoke networks that would adequately serve the intra- and inter-continental demand for air transport. Aside from current hubs, namely Cairo (Egypt), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Johannesburg (South Africa), future hubs could include airports in the North that serve European-African flows, such as Algiers, and Nigeria in the West due to its relatively large population and wealth. By 2030, we also find that demand is sufficient to justify an additional hub in central Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Lusaka (Zambia). However, this would be dependent on the implementation of liberalisation policies as set out in the Yamoussoukro Decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Controlling for the aggregation bias in FDI flows and the home and host country heterogeneity within and between Northern and Southern countries, we explore the effects of bilateral FDI flows on host country productivity growth, and on the productivity convergence dynamics between the host and the productivity-frontier country. Using bilateral FDI flows’ data from 108 host and 240 home countries over 1990–2012, and employing a variety of estimation techniques together with a rich battery of robustness tests, we find no significant effect of bilateral FDI flows on either host country productivity growth or on the productivity gap between the host and the frontier country. We also show that these findings are not sensitive to the direction of FDI flows, which are South-South, South-North, North-South or North-North. In a decomposition exercise, we also fail to find any significant effect of bilateral or aggregate FDI flows on physical capital growth. Yet, we find some evidence of a positive effect of FDI flows on human capital growth but just in one direction, South-South. Last but not least, we fail to find any productivity growth or convergence effect at the sectoral level, including agricultural, industry, or services sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a panel fixed effects model for a sample of 121 countries covering 1975–2005, we examine how financial development, financial liberalization and banking crises are related to income inequality. In contrast with most previous work, our results suggest that all finance variables increase income inequality. The level of financial development conditions the impact of financial liberalization on inequality. Also the quality of political institutions conditions the impact of financial liberalization on income inequality, in contrast to the quality of economic institutions. Our main findings are robust for using random effects, cross-country regressions and legal origin as instrument for financial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article shows that the liberalization of the residential market for electricity in Chile may achieve important welfare gains. We built a model to assess two policy scenarios: partial and full liberalization. Simulations of the model provide equilibrium prices, the distribution toll, and welfare estimations on factual and counterfactual scenarios. Our policy recommendation is to partially liberalize the residential market for electricity. That is, to allow the entrance into this market but regulate both the incumbent's tariffs for residential customers and the distribution toll. Full liberalization, in which only the distribution toll is regulated, produces a lower increase in welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides systematic analysis of the empirical literature about the relation between financial liberalization and banking crises by conducting a meta-analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first study based on a meta-analysis as a tool to identify banking crises’ origins, especially financial liberalization effect. We are interested in explaining heterogeneity of results reported in previous empirical works by investigating the importance of specific characteristics of studies, data, methodology and accounting for model uncertainty. Our contribution resides in the use of the Bayesian Model Averaging approach to determine potential explanatory factors of earlier finding discrepancies. We find that the sample size plays an important role in explaining divergences in previous results, and that the use of multidimensional measures in developing countries tends to reduce significantly the link between financial liberalization and banking crises. Furthermore, we find that some estimation techniques deliver results systematically different from those obtained via other methods. For example, the use of logit approach results in substantially important estimates of the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several financial and banking sector reform programs were instituted in different countries over the last three decades. The underlining purpose of these reforms was largely to improve banking sector supervision and regulation, introduce bank privatization mechanism, introduce clearance and settlement systems, infuse competition and to stimulate financial innovation. The objectives of this study are to 1) review the relevant published literature and market survey reports on the financial & banking sector reforms undertaken in Pakistan and elsewhere, 2) analyze how these reform programs develop digital banking culture and increase financial inclusion in the country and 3) guide future research by putting forward a research agenda. The findings of the study suggest a link between the financial and banking sector reforms and the stimulation of financial innovation; the promotion of digital banking culture; and the infusion of financial inclusion in Pakistan. We discuss managerial/policy implications of the study, limitations and presents recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both classical (Ricardo) and neo-classical (Heckscher-Ohlin) theories of international trade assume that free trade results in welfare gains for all involved. A more recent literature dedicated to liberalization of trade in renewable resources finds that welfare effects depend on certain factors, such as the country's status as importer or exporter, the state of the renewable resource stocks and the size of the country on the world market (Chichilnisky, 1993; Brander and Taylor, 1997a; Emami and Johnston, 2000 , Hannesson, 2000), or remain theoretically indeterminate and require empirical analysis (Nielsen, 2009). Fish trade liberalization is provided in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) concluded by the Canadian Government in 2013 with the European Union (EU). This new type of “21st century” trade agreement challenges both the conventional theory of international trade and renewable resource-based sectors of economic activity such as fish and seafood by opening them up to industrial-type international competition and integration. The paper uses the theoretical framework of ecological economics (Costanza et al., 2015) to demonstrate that the declining Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) fish and seafood industry is not ready to participate gainfully in implementation of the CETA. It also uses the concept of “policy space” (Rodrik 2007, Pauwelyn 2008) to recommend some policy changes that can prepare the NL fish and seafood sector for competitive and beneficial participation in the CETA. Restructuring the fish and seafood sector with a focus on small scale, elimination of harmful subsidies and redirecting them to achieve lower costs of operation, better trained labor force, and more just and sustainable supply/marketing networks, will make it fit to benefit from the gains from trade and to contribute to a more equitable distribution of the benefits of the fishery to the fishers and local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the impact of EU liberalization policy tools on the rate of supplier switching in order to assess whether the objective of increased competition in the natural gas sector has been achieved. Three dynamic models are applied to a panel of 22 EU members between 1998 and 2013 to test the efficacy of eleven policy tools including privatization, in bringing competition to the market. Panel econometrics suggests that the liberalization tools implemented positively influence competition, although jointly rather than on a stand-alone basis. The implementation of pro-market regulations is associated with more competition in the sector. Among the various instruments, the virtual trading point, market-based balancing, market opening, and privatization have the greatest competition-enhancing potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of security of electricity supply (SoES) is particularly complex due to, among others, the liberalisation process and the increasing penetration of renewable energies. Larsen et al. [1] propose a framework based on twelve dimensions to evaluate SoES for a single jurisdiction. However, actions aimed at improving one dimension might impact others negatively, adversely affecting the overall system. Understanding how these dimensions are interrelated is thus a prerequisite for appropriate planning and resource allocation. We apply a Cross Impact Analysis (CIA) to these dimensions to determine the degree to which the different dimensions depend on each other. From this we derive an influence diagram to visualise the interdependencies and a scatter plot to categorise the dimensions as independent, driver, connector or outcome. Actions targeting the drivers or connectors are potentially the more effective ones a regulator can take, as the consequences will gradually ripple through the system. Having an integral view of the dimensions' interdependencies provides a better understanding of the higher-order changes an intervention may cause. This enables policymakers and regulators to identifying where in the system to intervene to achieve the desired effect with the least amount of resources and with as few undesirable side-effects as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liberalization of beef exports in Botswana is hotly debated among policy makers and relevant value chain actors. While some policy makers argue that such a move might increase prices for producers and make beef unaffordable for consumers, others suggest an open market would reduce the profitability of the beef sector in Botswana. At the same time, these impacts will be mediated by the presence of animal disease and the availability of sufficient feed and water. In this paper, we constructed an integrated system dynamics (SD) model that captures the feedbacks between the biological dynamics of cattle production, the economics of animal and meat marketing and trade, and the impacts that environmental pressures such as rainfall and animal disease have on the system. We used this model to run a series of scenarios associated with market liberalization and animal health shocks to quantify their impacts throughout the value chain, taking into account the feedbacks between biology, markets, and environment on the value chain itself. This approach allows for a holistic evaluation of policy options on different chain actors and whole chain performance, and provides a knowledge base for prioritizing interventions. Model results suggested that although disease control policies benefit all value chain actors, gains from market liberalization come at the expense of substantial losses to Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) and its contracted feedlots. They also suggest that combining market liberalization policy reforms with better animal disease controls greatly improved the financial performance of all value chain actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the multi-scale temporal correlations and causality connections between the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) monthly average closing price indexes for a period of 300 months, encompassing the time period of the liberalisation of the Indian economy and its gradual global exposure. In multi-scale analysis; clearly identifiable 1, 2 and 3 year non-stationary periodic modulations in NYSE and BSE have been observed, with NYSE commensurating changes in BSE at 3 years scale. Interestingly, at one year time scale, the two exchanges are phase locked only during the turbulent times, while at the scale of three year, in-phase nature is observed for a much longer time frame. The two year time period, having characteristics of both one and three year variations, acts as the transition regime. The normalised NYSE’s stock value is found to Granger cause those of BSE, with a time lag of 9 months. Surprisingly, observed Granger causality of high frequency variations reveals BSE behaviour getting reflected in the NYSE index fluctuations, after a smaller time lag. This Janus faced relationship, shows that smaller stock exchanges may provide a natural setting for simulating market fluctuations of much bigger exchanges. This possibly arises due to the fact that high frequency fluctuations form an universal part of the financial time series, and are expected to exhibit similar characteristics in open market economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the rapid economic and social development that has occurred since 1978, when China adopted a policy of reform and liberalization, the cultivated land area has rapidly decreased. Identifying the best mechanism for protecting cultivated land has attracted much attention from the Chinese government. As a result, a succession of cultivated land protection policies have been devised and promulgated. To better understand these policies, this study reviewed the development of China’s cultivated land protection policies since 1978. The policies developed over four different periods following 1978: (1) 1978–1985, (2) 1986–1997, (3) 1998–2003, and (4) 2004 to the present. During each stage, cultivated land protection policies continually developed and acquired distinct characteristics in response to a succession of varying economic and social contexts. Although China has encountered difficulties and setbacks in implementing policies, and results have been sometimes unsatisfactory, land protection policies have continually improved and now play an important role in managing China’s cultivated land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous large scale land acquisitions have occurred in Angola since partial political and economic liberalization in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and further increased after 2002 and the end of armed conflict. They have occurred in conjunction with the emergence of a range of large state-coordinated agricultural projects, often by foreign contractors, for domestic food, and involving plans for backwards and forwards linkages to agro-processing and manufacturing initiatives. Altogether such land allocations and projects involve several billion dollars and several million hectares. These activities appear to often also involve high-level officials and/or wealthy Angolans and are often interpreted as neo-patrimonialism, state-sanctioned private accumulation, and instances of continuity in extractive institutions. Yet examining specific agrarian transformations illustrates how land and rural poverty in Angola are much more complex than a zero-sum game of elite accumulation of private land concessions. Key are Angola’s geo-historical trajectories of colonialism, war, socialism and liberalization, which the article examines in two concessions in Malanje Province We address the relationships between international enterprises and domestic elites, and the relevance of land dynamics within a long-term political economy perspective on capitalist industrialization and structural transformation in Angola and Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the role of trade liberalization and agricultural intensification in mitigating climate change cause and effects on land use and emissions using a computable general equilibrium model. Our results indicate that cropland expansion triggered by climate-induced crop productivity changes results in deforestation and increases emissions in South Asia and globally. Global full trade liberalization on all goods is the optimum policy for South Asia despite significant global deforestation, but for the world, unilateral partial trade liberalization on all goods is a more appropriate policy while ensuring a considerable emissions reduction for South Asia. These results indicate that mitigation responses to climate change are location specific and no one trade policy is suitable at the regional and global levels. Lastly, agricultural intensification by improving productivity growth is the best strategy in land-based emissions mitigation, thereby avoiding the transformation of forest and pasture lands for agricultural cultivation both at regional and global levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liberalisation of the telecommunications sector has undoubtedly contributed to the spread and adoption of mobile telephony across Africa but evidence also points to the fact that coverage gaps persist in some locations - mainly rural and remote areas - which are either unserved or underserved. In order to address this problem, governments across Africa have established universal service funds (USF) as their universal service strategy. Nonetheless, various studies have suggested that the problem of limited coverage remains unaddressed due, in part, to the poor implementation of USF. This raises the question as to why USF have failed to address the limited coverage of telecommunication services in Africa? We seek to answer this question by investigating the interplay between market liberalisation and universal service using a multiple case study approach with examples drawn from across the continent. We find that poor policy formulation limits the implementation of an effective USF model in Africa. In addition, inadequate stakeholder engagement, lack of accountability, inaccurate data, undue political influence and the narrow scope of universal service all impinge on the ability of USF to achieve their objectives. We, therefore, propose the need for future research to address these challenges and develop our framework to unravel some of the intractable areas of universal service such as determining what services should fall within the scope of universal service and how to prevent policy redundancy in a fast moving industry such as mobile telecommunications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the effects of regulation and political stability on the allocation of mobile telecommunication investments in the African continent between 2001 and 2011. To better understand the dynamics of investment in telecommunications, a framework was developed to assess factors that determine investments in the telecom industry at the country and industry level, particularly institutions, market size/demand level, market structure and investing cost. The results show that investments in the mobile telecommunications industry are dependent on regulation and liberalization; however, no statistical evidence was found for the effect of political stability as measured by the democratic process. Furthermore, the study has shown that market structure factors, especially competition, market size and the cost of investing in a country, are important in determining the allocation of mobile telecommunications investments among African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tracks the energy use and changes to China's energy-efficiency regulatory framework governing the iron and steel industry for the last thirty years. The detailed institutional analysis identifies both abating and augmenting effects of the regulatory framework changes on the energy intensity changes. The paper then assesses the impacts of various other factors on the energy intensity of China's iron and steel industry by using time-series data on the sector level. The quantitative analysis shows that technology progress, specifically the production process transition from high-energy intensive open-hearth furnace (OHF) to more energy efficient basic-oxygen furnace (BOF), is the biggest contributor to energy intensity reductions in China's iron and steel industry in the last thirty years, even after controlling for regulatory change and policy incentives. The ownership reform resulting from changes in the regulatory framework change contributed to energy intensity reductions in China's iron and steel industry, while fast market expansion resulting from market liberalization and regulation decentralization served as a principal barrier for energy efficiency improvements. Government policies, represented by financial subsidies from governments, correspond with energy intensity reductions in key large and medium sized enterprises, but interestingly, seem to be ineffective at producing energy intensity reductions for the industry as a whole. As other research indicated, rising coal prices also contributed to energy intensity reductions in China's iron and steel industry. Finally, the paper concludes that, to further incentivize energy intensity reductions, the Chinese government should consider correcting the negative impacts of the regulatory framework change, as well as transferring production processes to the highly energy efficient electric-arc furnace (EAF) and extending policy regulations to wider enterprise groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949, China has endured multiple political mobilizations that shattered traditional norms and reshuffled social hierarchies. Its reversal to market liberalization since the late 1970s has been no less remarkable in disrupting previously established social structures. Using data compiled from the 2000 Census, this study explores the influences of these institutional transformations on educational assortative mating. The results indicate that early political mobilizations have reduced the strength of educational association moderately and continuously whereas the onset of market reforms sharply reverses the trend to increasing association. Additional analyses further reveal that couples with sent-down wives have no or weaker advantages in homogamy whereas educational association among couples who are both sent-down is significantly weaker than others. In sum, the results show that whilst the effects of economic reforms on assortative mating are massive and pervasive, early political disruptions significantly affected only certain groups, mostly women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cross-border mobility of people, goods and services, and capital has expanded enormously both in intensity and diversity over recent decades. States have a general interest in facilitating these flows in order to benefit from economic globalisation. Yet, mainly due to security concerns, most governments grant visa-free mobility only very selectively. Drawing on a new bilateral visa policy database covering up to 194 destination and 214 origin countries over the 1995 to 2013 period, our analysis finds that the introduction of a visa restriction by a destination country for citizens from a particular origin country deters tourism inflows by about 20 per cent. Visa restrictions also reduce bilateral trade and foreign investment, but to a smaller extent than previous studies have suggested. We further find that some of the deterred flows in tourists and goods and services are redirected to other (visa-free) destinations. This deterrence-cum-deflection effect of restrictive visa policies implies significant economic costs for both visa-issuing and visa-targeted countries, but it creates some positive externalities for countries with a more liberal visa policy. Liberalised visa policies would in particular help poorer countries to partake more in the benefits of economic globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employ a unique framework to quantify the net effect of financial liberalization on banks’ total factor productivity (TFP) growth through a decomposition analysis of two effects: a positive direct effect of financial liberalization on bank TFP growth; and a negative indirect effect operating through a higher propensity to systemic banking crisis. The empirical decomposition is based on a sample of 1530 banks operating in 88 countries over the period 1999–2011. We find that the net effect of financial liberalization on bank TFP growth is positive: the direct positive effect outweighs the negative one. An important policy implication flows from these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opening up of the French long-distance bus industry is one of the outcomes of the Loi Macron . In this study, we build a unique data set of several representative bus routes and show that the effects of the liberalization have been encouraging in terms of fares, new entry, higher frequency, and higher quality. First, with regard to international routes that used to be under cabotage, we find that relaxing quantitative restrictions has led to the expected results on the Lyon–Torino and Paris–London routes. Second, with regard to domestic routes newly created from the Loi Macron , mostly all procompetitive expected variations in the variables have been observed, except for fares. Indeed, we show that bus operators used an initial aggressive pricing strategy to induce demand for the new services and then increased fares once customers became accustomed with the service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]