Analysis of the Public Transport Efficiency, Productivity and Economies of Scale: The Case of Sfax – Tunisia

Makhlouf Lassaad () and Helali Kamel
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Makhlouf Lassaad: Faculty of Economics and Management - University of Sfax – Tunisia, Research Unit CODECI -University of Sfax - Tunisia

Economics, 2024, vol. 12, issue 1, 51-69

Abstract: This study aimed to determine the efficiency and productivity of the production factors in the case of public transport in Sfax – the second most important agglomeration in Tunisia–. The analysis of factor productivity enabled identifying the shortcomings in the supply of this service and advocating certain strategies to boost supply. We use an estimation of the trans-logarithmic costs function with different restrictions while relying on the foundations of the microeconomic theory. We relied on annual statistical data from the Regional Transport Company in Sfax over the period preceding the COVID 19 crisis spanning from 1985 to 2018. The estimation results showed the presence of scale diseconomies, the gain in productivity over the years is too slow. The technical progress of public transport in Sfax is very low and the technical efficiency is also very limited. The results revealed that there is a decline in productivity growth due to a growing inefficiency throughout the study period. The underutilization of production capacities in the transport sector was judged as a consequence of excess of capacity and lack of efficiency attributed mainly to the lack of competition. The study identified some external factors that have an impact on the measured efficiency but are outside the company control. Public authorities should act on these factors to help companies improve their performance. A deregulation of the public transport sector by redefining the most important objectives has become urgent.

Keywords: Public transport; Efficiency; Productivity; Economies of Scale; Translog Cost Function (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D24 R41 R42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:econom:v:12:y:2024:i:1:p:51-69:n:4

DOI: 10.2478/eoik-2024-0004

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