PhD in Economics

Working Papers:

• Allocating the common costs of a public service operator: an axiomatic approach (with D. Lowing and L. Munich), 2024. (Available here)
  
  Abstract: Accurate cost allocation is a challenge for both public service operators and regulatory bodies,given the dual objectives of ensuring essential public service provision and maintaining fair competition. Operators have the obligation to provide essential public services for all individuals, which may incur additional costs. To compensate this, the operators receive state aids, which are determined by an assessment of the net cost associated with these obligations. However, these aids introduce the risk of distorting competition, as operators may employ them to subsidize competitive activities. To avoid this risk, a precise cost allocation method that adequately assess the net cost of these obligations becomes necessary. Such a method must satisfy specific properties that effectively prevent cross-subsidization. In this paper, we propose a method grounded in cooperative game theory that offers a solution for allocating common costs between activities and obligations in public service provision. We adopt a normative approach by introducing a set of desirable axioms that prevent cross-subsidization. We provide two characterizations of our proposed solution on the basis of these axioms. Furthermore, we present an illustration of our method to the allocation of common costs for a public service operator.
  
  

• Hazardous waste transportation: a cost allocation analysis, 2023. (Available here)
  
  Abstract: Due to their dangerous nature, the transportation of hazardous waste implies a risk of incidents having irreversible consequences on the environment. This problem has lead to a body of legal statutes that monitor the generation and transportation of hazardous waste. Assuming that such transport is done in a cooperative manner on a transport network, this paper aims to determine each agent's responsibility on the risk it poses to the network and allocate the cost of maintaining and operating the network accordingly. Considering several axioms derived from different environmental law principles, I show that there is a unique allocation that matches the interpretation of these environmental principles: the responsibility rule. Then I show that the responsibility rule coincides with the multi-choice Shapley value of an appropriate cooperative multi-choice game.