Browsing by Author "Arocena Garro, Pablo"
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Publication Open Access Automotive fuel prices at branded and unbranded service stations: differences in the impact of seller density, brand concentration and search costs(Taylor and Francis Group, 2023) Arocena Garro, Pablo; Bello Pintado, Alejandro; Contín Pilart, Ignacio; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate PublikoaThis paper analyses the impact of local competition on gasoline and diesel pricing at branded and unbranded independent service stations. Based on our theory-driven discussion we derive a number of hypotheses, which are empirically tested on a sample of service stations in Spain. In Spain, retail prices of motor fuels have been under the spotlight since the dismantling of the state monopoly in the 1990s. The concentration of the retail market and the behavior of the main oil operators are of constant concern to the competition authorities. Our empirical analysis provides evidence for the existence of different competitive dynamics between branded and unbranded stations, and between gasoline and diesel retail pricing. Specifically, the results show that (i) fuel prices at branded (unbranded) service station are positively (negatively) associated with the number of stations operating in the same local market, (ii) prices of both motor fuels at a branded station are higher the larger the share of stations carrying the same brand in its local market, (iii) diesel price at an unbranded station is lower the larger the share of unbranded stations in its local market, and (iv) unbranded service stations undercut the price of diesel more than that of gasoline compared with prices at branded stations.Publication Open Access A centralized directional distance model for efficient and horizontally equitable grants allocation to local governments(Elsevier, 2022) Arocena Garro, Pablo; Cabasés Hita, Fermín; Pascual Arzoz, Pedro; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBEThis paper proposes a directional distance model for efficient resource allocation when there is a centralized decision maker who oversees all units. The model is designed to allocate grants from an upper-tier government to the municipalities under its jurisdiction. Local governments employ the grants together with levied local taxes to provide services to their citizens. The objective of our formulation is to optimize grants allocation across municipalities taking into account efficiency, effectiveness and horizontal fiscal equity criteria. The model easily allows the setting of alternative priorities of the central decision maker, thus permitting quantification of the trade-off between the potential increase in the provision of local services and its associated cost. The model is applied to the allocation of current grants in the autonomous community of Navarre in northern Spain.Publication Open Access Determinants of the duration of sick leave due to occupational injuries: evidence from Spanish manufacturing(Elsevier, 2023) Arocena Garro, Pablo; García-Carrizosa, Laura M.; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate PublikoaIntroduction: Despite the significant economic impact of occupational injuries on companies and society, studies focused on analyzing the determinants of workdays lost due to sick leave remain scarce and incomplete. This paper contributes to this issue by (a) analyzing the drivers of sick leave duration, distinguishing factors that explain the health recovery time from those that could lead workers to a voluntary extension of the absence period, and (b) formulating and empirically testing the effect of gender, citizenship, temporary work, job tenure, amount of disability benefit, and size of the injured worker's firm on the number of days the employee is off work after the injury. Method: Hypotheses are tested on a comprehensive dataset that includes all nonfatal occupational injuries causing sick leave that occurred in the manufacturing sector in Spain during 2015¿2019, with more than 400,000 injuries. We conduct ordinary least squares and count data regression models in which the number of days off work is regressed on employees and work characteristics while accounting for a set of variables to control the injury's nature and severity. Results: The results show that after considering the intrinsic characteristics of the injury and the severity of the worker's injuries, women, native workers, workers with more seniority, workers with higher salaries, and those working in larger companies have longer periods of sick leave. The results suggest that moral hazard considerations significantly impact the time to return to work after an occupational injury. Practical applications: Based on the findings, several insights for company managers and public decision-makers are discussed. Specifically, interventions aimed at improving the organization of work and the working conditions of workers in manufacturing industries are highlighted, as well as the need to improve control and supervision mechanisms during the recovery process of injured workers.Publication Open Access La eficiencia energética, el efecto rebote y el crecimiento económico(Funcas, 2016) Gómez Gómez-Plana, Antonio; Arocena Garro, Pablo; Peña Vidondo, Sofía; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBEEl trabajo revisa la relación entre la mejora de la eficiencia energética y el efecto rebote, así como el impacto que cabe anticipar sobre el consumo de energía y el crecimiento en la economía española.Publication Open Access Energy-socio-economic-environmental modelling for the EU energy and post-COVID-19 transitions(Elsevier, 2022) Cazcarro, Ignacio; García-Gusano, Diego; Iribarren, Diego; Linares, Pedro; Romero, José Carlos; Arocena Garro, Pablo; Arto, Iñaki; Banacloche, Santacruz; Lechón, Yolanda; Miguel, Luis Javier; Zafrilla, Jorge; López, Luis Antonio; Langarita, Raquel; Cadarso, María Angeles; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de EmpresasRelevant energy questions have arisen because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic shock leads to emissions' reductions consistent with the rates of decrease required to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. Those unforeseen drastic reductions in emissions are temporary as long as they do not involve structural changes. However, the COVID-19 consequences and the subsequent policy response will affect the economy for decades. Focusing on the EU, this discussion article argues how recovery plans are an opportunity to deepen the way towards a low-carbon economy, improving at the same time employment, health, and equity and the role of modelling tools. Long-term alignment with the low-carbon path and the development of a resilient transition towards renewable sources should guide instruments and policies, conditioning aid to energy-intensive sectors such as transport, tourism, and the automotive industry. However, the potential dangers of short-termism and carbon leakage persist. The current energy-socio-economic-environmental modelling tools are precious to widen the scope and deal with these complex problems. The scientific community has to assess disparate, non-equilibrium, and non-ordinary scenarios, such as sectors and countries lockdowns, drastic changes in con sumption patterns, significant investments in renewable energies, and disruptive technologies and incorporate uncertainty analysis. All these instruments will evaluate the cost-effectiveness of decarbonization options and potential consequences on employment, income distribution, and vulnerability.Publication Open Access Estimating economies of scale and scope with flexible technology(Springer, 2016) Triebs, Thomas P.; Saal, David S.; Arocena Garro, Pablo; Kumbhakar, Subal C.; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen KudeaketaEconomies of scope are typically modelled and estimated using a cost function that is common to all firms in an industry irrespective of their type, e.g. whether they specialize in a single output or produce multiple outputs. Instead, we estimate a flexible technology model that allows for type-specific technologies and show how it can be estimated using linear parametric forms including the translog. A common technology remains a special case of our model and is testable econometrically. Our sample, of publicly owned US electric utilities, does not support a common technology for integrated and specialized firms. Our empirical results therefore suggest that assuming a common technology might bias estimates of economies of scale and scope. Thus, how we model the production technology clearly influences the policy conclusions we draw from its characteristics.Publication Open Access La evolución de los costes energéticos y su efecto en la competitividad de la industria española(Ministerio de Industria, Energía y Turismo, 2015) Arocena Garro, Pablo; Díaz Mendoza, Ana Carmen; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen KudeaketaEste trabajo tiene como objetivo principal analizar los gastos energéticos del sector manufacturero español y como fin último ofrecer una imagen de la posición relativa de los costes energéticos de la industria española y su evolución a lo largo de la última década. En particular, se persigue cuantificar cuánto de importantes son los costes de la energía para las empresas industriales, en qué subsectores industriales es más relevante el gasto energético, y si este es más alto o más bajo que el soportado por las empresas que operan en otros países.Publication Open Access The impact of ISO 14001 on firm environmental and economic performance: the moderating role of size and environmental awareness(Wiley, 2020) Arocena Garro, Pablo; Orcos Sánchez, Raquel; Zouaghi, Ferdaous; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de EmpresasThis paper analyzes the impact of adopting the ISO 14001 standard on firm environmental and economic performance. In particular, it is argued that the degree of environmental awareness of the society (EAS) and firm size are two factors moderating the effect of ISO 14001 on firm performance. A number of hypotheses are formulated and empirically tested on an international sample of 583 listed companies in 46 countries over the period of 2009–2018. The findings show that (i) ISO 14001 adoption contributes to reducing firm carbon emission intensity and increasing firm profitability; (ii) the impact of ISO14001 on profitability is greater for companies from countries with high EAS and for larger firms; and (iii) the impact of ISO 14001 on carbon intensity is greater for headquartered in countries with low EAS. Managerial and policy implications resulting from the widespread adoption of certifiable environmental standards are also discussed.Publication Embargo Measuring and decomposing productivity change in the presence of mergers(Elsevier, 2020) Arocena Garro, Pablo; Saal, David S.; Urakami, Takuya; Zschille, Michael; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de EmpresasManagers and policymakers often encourage mergers and acquisitions of companies with the aim of increasing the productivity of the involved firms. However, problems with the measurement of productivity change usually occur when analyzing companies that merged during the period under consideration: while only individual predecessor firms exist in the base period, in the following period only the integrated company is observable. We therefore propose a new adaptation of the Malmquist index that is appropriate in the presence of mergers, which also allows for a detailed analysis of their effects on productivity change. Moreover, we believe that our methodological approach provides a useful widely applicable tool to identify the contribution of past mergers to productivity growth. We illustrate our merger consistent productivity decomposition, by using a sample of Japanese water supply systems observed in 2003, and the resulting consolidated and non-consolidated systems observed in 2009. On average, we find that mergers contributed positively to productivity change and that our merger consistent decomposition contributes to a better understanding of the determinants of productivity performance in the Japanese water sector.Publication Open Access A model for the competitive benchmarking of energy costs(Elsevier, 2024) Arocena Garro, Pablo; Gómez Gómez-Plana, Antonio; Peña Vidondo, Sofía; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen Kudeaketa; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafaroako Unibertsitate PublikoaBenchmarking is an essential tool for quantifying how a company's energy costs compare with those of competitors and understanding the sources of cost differences, with the ultimate goal of identifying strengths and opportunities for improving performance. The increasing relevance of energy as a factor in competitiveness has heightened interest in managing energy costs. This paper develops an analytical framework for benchmarking the energy cost variance across firms. In this framework, a cost frontier approach allows the decomposition of the observed energy cost gap between two firms, that is, the difference between the unit energy cost of a benchmark producer and the unit energy cost of a target firm. The unit energy cost gap is decomposed into six constituents: (i) energy prices; (ii) non-energy prices; (iii) energy efficiency; (iv) capital intensity; (v) outsourcing level; and (vi) production scale. We illustrate the implementation and usefulness of the proposed model via an empirical application of energy cost benchmarking on a sample of paper manufacturers.Publication Open Access The scope of implementation of ISO 14001 by multinational enterprises: the role of liabilities of origin(Elsevier, 2023) Arocena Garro, Pablo; Orcos Sánchez, Raquel; Zouaghi, Ferdaous; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBEThis research contends that MNEs from polluting and emerging countries are subject to liabilities of origin that compel them to signal that they differ from the stereotypes of their home countries to attain environmental legitimacy. ISO 14001 adoption, which signals a commitment to environmental protection, may help MNEs from polluting and emerging countries overcome their legitimacy deficits. The wider the scope of ISO 14001 adoption, the greater its power to signal environmental awareness, and therefore, the greater its efficacy in counteracting liabilities of origin. Accordingly, this research proposes that the scope of ISO 14001 adoption by MNEs from the considered countries is wider than that of MNEs that are not subject to liabilities of origin. This contention is tested in a multisector sample of 733 MNEs over the period 2002–2019.Publication Open Access Siniestralidad laboral, crecimiento económico y peligrosidad objetiva en la industria, construcción y servicios en Navarra (1991-2001)(Gobierno de Navarra, Departamento de Economía y Hacienda, 2003) Arocena Garro, Pablo; Núñez Aldaz, Imanol; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen KudeaketaEste trabajo analiza el efecto del crecimiento económico sobre la siniestralidad laboral, así como la medida en que la aprobación de la Ley de Prevención de Riesgos Laborales ha contribuido a reducir la peligrosidad objetiva en los sectores de la industria, construcción y servicios a lo largo de la década 1991-2001. Nuestros resultados muestran que existen diferencias significativas en la evolución de la siniestralidad y de la peligrosidad objetiva entre Navarra y el conjunto del estado, así como entre el periodo anterior y posterior a la aprobación de la Ley. En particular, el crecimiento económico en Navarra ha sido menos intensivo en siniestralidad que la economía española, al tiempo que la tasa de reducción de la peligrosidad objetiva desde 1996 es mayor que en el resto del estado.Publication Open Access Three essays on the economic analysis of energy efficiency(2017) Peña Vidondo, Sofía; Arocena Garro, Pablo; Gómez Gómez-Plana, Antonio; Gestión de Empresas; Enpresen KudeaketaThe thesis is structured in three independent essays, with the energy intensity and energy efficiency as a common thread. Each paper aims to contribute to the academic literature. However they also aim to contribute to the current energy policy and economic debate. The analysis has managerial implications and are allpolicy relevant. Chapter 1 focuses on the analysis of the energy intensity change. We have applied the proposed decomposition to the analysis of the evolution of energy intensity in Spanish manufacturing over the period 1999-2007 by using regional and industry leve! data. Broadly, our findings confirm that the technical progress, the change in the input mix and the improvement in the leve! of technical energy efficiency are the factors that have contributed to reduce the energy intensity in most manufacturing industries throughout the analyzed period. By contrast, the increase in the scale of operations and the change in the regional distribution of production have acted as energy intensity increasing forces within most industries. Chapter 2 focuses on the analysis of energy costs and business competitiveness. In this paper,we conduct an energy cost-based benchmarking exercise at firm level. We apply and extend the cost frontier approach based on the Konüs framework proposed by Grifell and Lovell (2015), to the interfirm comparison of energy costs. Basically, we decampase the energy cost gap between two firms,the gap being the difference between the energy cost of a benchmarking producer and the energy cost of a target firm in the sample. Chapter 3 focuses on the consequences that an improvement of the energy productivity has for the Spanish economy. To that effect, we formulate a computable general equilibrium (CGE} model to study the economy-wide effects of an increase of energy efficiency in the Spanish economy. Our model describes an open economy, disaggregated into 27 production sectors. The simulations consist in improving the productivity of energy-related inputs. Specifically, it is simulated a reduction of the use of 4 energy intermediate inputs (electricity, gas, oil refining and coal) by unity of output produced. We simulate a number of alternative scenarios and model specifications in order to estimate the rebound effect across sectors and energy types, as well as the impact on economic growth and employment.