Isac Olave-Cruz

Associate Professor at LERN - University of Rouen Normandy

Research

Publications

Other publications

  • Entre ambition européenne et prudence française : le cas des communautés d’énergie (w/ Julien Jacqmin and Marco Gazel), La Revue de l’Énergie, May 2026. https://shorturl.at/17RVd

Working Papers

  • Fire Bikes to the Rescue! Bike-Sharing and Public Transport Substitution Link to the manuscrit
    Abstract The introduction of new mobility services, such as bike-sharing, has profoundly transformed urban mobility. These services have been adopted for their potential to improve efficiency, reduce congestion, and lower pollution by enhancing complementarities with public transport. However, the market dynamics between new services and public transport remains unclear. This study leverages a natural experiment based on an extemporaneous incident that temporarily shut down operations in Mexico City’s subway network. Using geolocation data to analyze the spatial relationship between bike-sharing and subway stations, I identify bike journeys that substitute or complement public transport. The evidence suggests a substantial increase in the degree of substitution to bike-sharing during subway disruptions. Furthermore, following the restoration of subway service, both overall demand for bike-sharing and its complementarity with public transit increase. Lastly, I present evidence suggesting that this expansion is associated with a rise in subway ridership. These findings have important implications for the future of urban mobility, providing robust empirical insights for developing a resilient, efficient, and sustainable transport system.
  • Contract Shifting vs Contract Splitting in Public Procurement (w/ Juan Ivars) Link to the manuscrit
    Abstract This paper investigates the consequences of prohibiting discretion in public procurement. We study whether procurement officials manipulate the estimated value of contracts to avoid crossing regulatory thresholds and how this impacts procurement outcomes. We exploit the unique design of the procurement law in Colombia to document three empirical findings. First, there is substantial manipulation of contracts around the threshold. Second, manipulation occurs in two different forms: contract shifting and contract splitting. Contract shifting means decreasing the estimated value of the contract while contract splitting refers to dividing a contract into multiple smaller parts. We show that contract shifting is the main form of manipulation in this context. Third, manipulation decreases the final value paid and does not affect the number of bidders or the frequency of repeated winners. However, manipulation decreases the quality of the procedure. We propose a model of public procurement that explains when each type of manipulation is used and outlines its welfare implications. We find that procurers promote contract shifting when they face small purchase thresholds and contract splitting when they face large ones. Conversely, the model shows that contract splitting is welfare-enhancing for small thresholds and decreasing for large ones. Contract shifting is always welfare-enhancing. We conclude by discussing the policy implications.

Work in Progress

  • Sharing Rules in Renewable Energy Communities: A Review of the Literature (w/ Marco Gazel and Julien Jacqmin)
  • Simple Auctions to Boost Green Public Procurement: Evidence from Colombia (w/ Carine Staropoli)
  • Pooled, not Scrambled! Harmonizing Digital Mobility Platforms (w/ Eric Brousseau)

Other publications in which I have collaborated