Deregulation-restructuring: Evidence for individual industries
Several studies have measured the effects of regulation on a particular industry. These studies range widely in sophistication, from simple observation (comparison) of pre-transformation and post-transformation actual industry performance to econometric analysis that attempt to separate the effects of deregulation from other factors in explaining changes in an industry`s performance. The major problem with observation studies is that they are unable to measure the effect of one particular event, such as deregulation, on an industry`s performance. For example, at the same time that the United Kingdom privatized its electric power industry, it also radically restructured the industry to encourage competition and instituted a price-cap mechanism to regulate the prices of transmission, distribution, and bundled retail services. Subsequent to these changes in 1991, real prices for most UK electricity customers have fallen. It is not certain however, which of these factors was most important or even contributed to the decline in price. In any event, one must be cautious in interpreting the results of studies that attempt to measure the effect of deregulation per se for a specific industry. This report highlights major outcomes for five industries undergoing deregulation or major regulatory and restructuring reforms. These include the natural gas, transportation, UK electric power, financial, and telecommunications industries. Particular attention was given to the historical development of events in the telecommunications industry.
- Research Organization:
- Ohio State Univ., National Regulatory Research Inst., Columbus, OH (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- National Regulatory Research Inst., Columbus, OH (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 308019
- Report Number(s):
- NRRI--97-14; ON: DE99001656
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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