Political Opportunists and Mavericks? A Typology of Spanish Airports

Abstract

The authors present a framework for investigating Spanish airport economic efficiency, since the airport industry ensures that international air services that are fully competitive are accessible to cities. The authors review literature on different methodologies for measuring and actual measurement of airport efficiency to gain insight into airport typology proposals. All possible airport business forms, including public service, political opportunist, and commercial, fall within the investigation's scope. Two ideal airport types are presented by the authors in the resulting typology: mavericks and public service facilities or political opportunists. Using one-way analysis and cross-efficiency methodology of variance using "peered" and "self" multipliers to assess airport typology research, the authors demonstrate that there is robust economic performance by the mavericks, while the other group is highly dependent on multiplier selection. Maverick classification, which does not depend on multiplier selection, is quite stable. The authors recommend how economic efficiency can be fostered by further research that typology can contribute to.