The Liberalization And Privatization Of Public Utilities And The Protection Of Users Rights The Perspective Of Economic Theory

The privatization of public utilities raises several complex issues. The privatization decision involves not only the transfer of ownership from the public to the private sector, and thus the design of appropriate selling procedures (with regard to valuation of assets, flotation of shares, etc), but also, and most importantly, it appears to require the adjustment of significant features of the industrial organization and the regulatory framework. This volume focuses on the two related questions of why and how to proceed to privatization.

This book presents the first in-depth analysis of the export of the EU electricity acquis, through the imposition of an EU-type regional electricity market (REM) in SEE within the enlargement process. Among other germane issues, the author discusses the following: the suitability of the European model of electricity markets’ liberalization for economies in transition; the use of the Public Services Obligations (PSO) to address the impact of electricity markets liberalization; the use of regulated prices and measures for granting priority rights for cross-border capacity allocation as PSOs; the Court of Justice judgement in Federutility on the sustainability of states’ protection of their different types of customers, including the large businesses; the Energy Community as a step towards a Pan-European Energy Community; the effect of simultaneous national electricity markets liberalization and cross-border regional integration of national electricity markets; and, the interplay between liberalization policy and reforms and the regulatory tools available to address their impact on provision of public services. The author’s proposed rethinking of the public services obligation offers new views on using this tool more effectively and proposes possibilities for its practical implementation through measures such as energy efficiency, allocation of interconnectors’ capacity, transparency, addressing the affordability issue and the protection of vulnerable customers. The book is remarkable for its clear analysis of the policy lessons arising from the export of the idea of liberalized energy markets, and will be welcomed by practitioners, officials, academics and others in energy law and policy for its informative and forward-looking overview of the national and cross-border reforms in the Energy Community framework.

Theoretical arguments and empirical findings put forward in this paper leads to the conclusion, that the often stated dominant position against public enterprises is not at all convincing. In order to arrive at a fair and valid evaluation of public utilities, it is indispensable to look more closely to the particular circumstances of the technological, economic and social environment and the goals of the provision of a concrete service of public interest. The second part of the paper provides an overview of the scientific work of CIRIEC related to issues of public enterprises and services of general interest. It refers primarily to relevant research activities done in the International Scientific Commission Public services/Public enterprises. Over the past two decades CIRIEC contributed some recognized theoretical and empirical studies dealing with the functioning, governance and reform of public enterprises, based on an international perspective. Public utilities, public enterprises, privatizations, liberalizations and related topics have been the object of far reaching and intense debate among economists, politicians and practitioners for more than a century. Ideas have frequently changed, and practical solutions chosen to manage public utilities have also undergone significant changes over time. Presently we are witnessing a renewed debate on the relative opportunity of public and private enterprise. In the last twenty years privatization and liberalization have dominated the field. The outcome of this process has produced mixed results. Merits and demerits of privatization, liberalization and regulation are reviewed and discussed in the first part of the paper. The second part of the paper provides an overview of the scientific work of CIRIEC related to issues of public enterprises and services of general interest. It refers primarily to relevant research activities done in the International Scientific Commission Public services/Public enterprises. Over the past two decades CIRIEC contributed some recognized theoretical and empirical studies dealing with the functioning, governance and reform of public enterprises, based on an international perspective. Theoretical arguments and empirical findings put forward in this paper leads to the conclusion, that the often stated dominant position against public enterprises is not at all convincing. In order to arrive at a fair and valid evaluation of public utilities, it is indispensable to look more closely to the particular circumstances of the technological, economic and social environment and the goals of the provision of a concrete service of public interest.

Utilities have long been essential for societies, supplying basic services for nations, organizations and households alike. The proper functioning and regulation of utilities is therefore critical for the economy, society and security. History provides an invaluable insight into important issues of the economic and social regulation of utilities and offers guidance for future debates. However, the history of utility regulation – which speaks of changing, diverse and complex experiences around the world – was sidelined or marginalised when economists and policy-makers enthusiastically embraced the question of how to reform the utilities from the 1970s. This book examines in depth the complex regulation and deregulation of energy, communications, transportation and water utilities across Western Europe, the United States, Australia, Brazil, China and India. In each case, attention is drawn to the changing roles of the state, the market and firms in the regulation, organization and delivery of utility services. This book was originally published as a special issue of Business History.

David B. Smith This is a book about the application of economic theory to a unique form of social control - public utility regulation. A central theme of this work is to examine the role that economics has played in shaping the rationale and direction of regulatory practices. While economic theory has played an important role in the shaping of regulatory policy in the past, it has an even greater potential role to play in the future as the regulatory community grapples with the many challenges of a changing economic environment. This is a very timely and much needed piece of work that can serve as a reference for decision makers who are facing the challeng ing problems of deregulation and competition. This work is comprised of 13 selected articles that guide the reader from an initial discussion of why we decided to regulate certain industries in the first place to a specific analysis of what role economic theory has played in the electric, natural gas, telecommunications, and water indus tries, and whether it should be allowed to play an even more dominant role in the future. The reader is then provided with a more modern version of what economists mean by the concept of natural monopoly and a menu of policy options that will allow society to derive any benefits from such a market structure.

Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, railways, and water supply, are often vertically and horizontally integrated state monopolies. This results in weak services, especially in developing and transition economies, and for poor people. Common problems include low productivity, high costs, bad quality, insufficient revenue, and investment shortfalls. Many countries over the past two decades have restructured, privatized and regulated their infrastructure. This report identifies the challenges involved in this massive policy redirection. It also assesses the outcomes of these changes, as well as their distributional consequences for poor households and other disadvantaged groups. It recommends directions for future reforms and research to improve infrastructure performance, identifying pricing policies that strike a balance between economic efficiency and social equity, suggesting rules governing access to bottleneck infrastructure facilities, and proposing ways to increase poor people's access to these crucial services.

At a time when there is major reorientation of rural economies in Europe, and the emergence of new possibilities both for governance and for conflict, this book brings together a group of leading academics in the fields of geography, sociology and anthropology to examine how such changes are taking place in the west of Europe. It describes, analyses and theorises the role of networks and social capital in rural development in six countries: Finland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland and Sweden, and addresses the tension between studying 'local' rural development and the 'globalized' nature of modern economies and societies. An approach to networks and social capital is used as a way of drawing attention to the non-economic dimensions of rural development and society. The book stresses that the links between society and economics are of key importance.