When supply travels far beyond demand: Causes of oversupply in Spain’s transport infrastructure

Daniel Albalate, Germà Bel and Xavier Fageda

No 201409, IREA Working Papers from University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics

Abstract: Spain’s transport infrastructure policy has become a paradigmatic case of oversupply and of mismatch with demand. The massive expansion of the country’s transport infrastructure over the last decade has not been a response to demand bottlenecks or previously identified needs. For this reason, the intensity of use today on all interurban modes of transport in Spain falls well below that of other EU countries. This paper analyzes the institutional and regulatory factors that have permitted this policy, allowing us to draw lessons from the Spanish case that should help other countries avoid the pitfalls and shortcomings of Spanish policy. Based on our analysis, we also discuss policy remedies and suggest reforms in different regulatory areas, which could help improve the performance of Spain’s infrastructure policy.

Keywords: Infrastructure, Transportation, Overcapacity, Regulation, Spain. JEL classification: H54; L91; L98; R41; R42; R48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2014-03, Revised 2014-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-tre and nep-ure
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Journal Article: When supply travels far beyond demand: Causes of oversupply in Spain's transport infrastructure (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ira:wpaper:201409

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