Does high-speed rail affect airport efficiency? Evidence from Italy

This paper investigates the impact of the development of the High Speed Railway (HSR) infrastructure on the efficiency of the airport system in Italy during the period 2003-2014. We employ a two stage estimation: in stage one we implement DEA to obtain airport technical inefficiency scores, which are regressed in stage two on proxies of distance from the HSR network. Evidence from efficiency analysis indicates the presence of variable returns to scale. Regression results suggest that airport efficiency increases with different measures of proximity to HSR links. Results are robust to the inclusion of low cost companies and international flights.