Privatisation, Regulation and Institutional Structures of Airports: An International Study

Airports are typically locational monopolies possessing strong market power - abuse of this is controlled by public ownership, regulation or not-for-profit operation. All these pose problems for achieving economic efficiency while meeting environmental standards. Design of efficient regulation, and the Australian experiment with price monitored private airports, will be analysed. Using data from Australian and overseas airports, the performance of airports operating under the alternative systems will be evaluated, enabling an assessment of performance and privatisation; a comparison of private, public and not-for-profit systems; and pointing out how better governance options can be designed.