This paper proposes and analyzes a simple model of schedule competition, where transport providers choose service frequency and fares. The key assumptions are that passengers care about average schedule delay, a consequence of committing to travel before knowing their departure times, and that they exhibit brand loyalty to particular carriers. While the most general version of model is not amenable to analysis, familiar functional-form assumptions produce a tractable framework that generates a host of useful comparative-static results along with a clearcut efficiency evaluation. The model also sheds light on the phenomenon of excess transport capacity.

Jan Brueckner, Profesor del Departamento de Economía de la Universidad de California Irvine.

13:30 Charla del Profesor Jan Brueckner