Winners and losers in tolled motorway renegotiations: an empirical evaluation of the Spanish pioneers

Abstract

This paper evaluates the welfare impact of a tolled motorway contract renegotiation in Spain. The results show that, after renegotiation, both taxpayers and the private concessionaire were better off. However, road users lost out. An agreement leaving road users unaffected, while securing gains for taxpayers and the concessionaire, would have been possible by negotiating a larger reduction in tolls linked to the extension of the contract duration.

Keywords:

• Concessions
• motorways
• PPPs
• renegotiations
• tolls

Acknowledgements

We thank the Spanish Government (ECO2012–38004) and the Government of Catalonia (SGR2009-1066) for their financial support.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel Albalate

Daniel Albalate is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Barcelona, Spain.

Paula Bel-Piñana

Paula Bel-Piñana is a lecturer in economics at the University of Barcelona, Spain.