COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF HIGHWAY CONCESSIONS IN BRAZIL

Resumen

This study presents a comparative analysis of efficiency in Brazilian highway concessions, focusing on the relationship between operational costs, management scale, and infrastructure quality. The research adopts an exploratory and descriptive design with a quantitative-comparative approach, combining observed data, estimated variables, and structured qualitative indicators. A Composite Efficiency Index (ICE) was developed based on normalized indicators of operational cost, management quality, and network scale. The methodology incorporates explicit thresholds, standardized classification criteria, and data harmonization procedures to enhance transparency and reproducibility. The results indicate that large concessionaire groups tend to exhibit higher infrastructure quality and investment capacity, while mid-sized operators achieve more balanced efficiency levels due to lower relative costs. The findings also reveal that operational scale alone is not sufficient to explain efficiency differences, highlighting the importance of managerial performance and contractual conditions. The study contributes to the literature by proposing a structured and replicable framework for comparative efficiency assessment in infrastructure concessions. However, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the use of partially estimated variables and the absence of direct causal inference.