Catherine Waddams Price

Efficiency and ownership in electricity distribution: A non-parametric model of the Turkish experience

The traditional structure of integrated monopoly in electricity supply is being abandoned and the general trend is towards privatization and deregulation. Turkey is no exception and has been deregulating its electricity market since 1984. Now, along side the publicly operated distribution organizations, there are four privately operated companies on the distribution side. This paper uses a non-parametric methodology to create a benchmark measure for the relative performance of the publicly operated organizations as well as the publicly operated organizations and their private counterparts. The early results show better technical and scale efficiency scores for the privately operated distribution organizations. However, this does not necessarily imply the success of private ownership in electricity distribution, since there are also technically and scale efficient publicly operated distribution organizations. This article therefore concentrates on finding the sources of inefficiencies by analysis of data and market structure, and discusses these in the context of the Turkish electricity market.

Generating Efficiency: Economic and Environmental Regulation of Public and Private Electricity Generators in Spain

Economic regulation of firms with market power has placed increasing emphasis on incentive-based regulation such as price caps. We focus on the effect of regulation as distinct from ownership, and identify the effect of two different regulatory schemes on both publicly and privately owned Spanish electricity generators. Publicly owned generators were more efficient under cost of service regulation; private (but not public) firms responded to incentive regulation by increasing efficiency, bringing their productivity to similar levels. We introduce some novelty in modelling efficiency, including three pollutants and declared plant availability as outputs, and we test for the effect of environmental regulation in reducing pollutants

The Economic Regulation of Private Industries by Price Constraints

Regulation of some newly privatised industries in the UK has been implemented by restricting annual price increases. This paper analyses the two forms which such regulation has taken-the tariff basket approach (applied to British Telecom) and the average revenue constraint imposed upon British Gas and the British Airports Authority. The incentives given by the tariff basket constraint to a profit maximiser are likely to result in a more efficient price structure than would occur under an average revenue constraint, demonstrating that the former is generally a superior form of regulation.

Contribution of TNFSF15 gene variants to Crohn's disease susceptibility confirmed in UK population

Background: Identification of Crohns disease (CD)‐associated genetic variants is key to understanding pathogenic pathways underlying disease susceptibility. Recent reports of an association between TNFSF15 variants and CD have been modestly replicated in European populations, suggesting heterogeneity at this locus with stronger CD association in Japanese than European populations. Methods: We investigated the association between variants in TNFSF15 and CD in 756 CD patients and 636 controls. Disease subphenotype associations were also investigated. Results: TNFSF15 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants were associated with CD in our panel with peak odds ratio (OR) 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.41) P = 0.033. The presence of a risk haplotype was replicated for the first time in a European population (frequency 67% in cases and 61% in controls) OR = 1.44 (95% CI 1.23–1.68) P = 0.00012. This result mirrors the UK panel in the index study (Yamazaki et al [2005] Hum Mol Genet 14:3499–3506) but is less significant than that reported in Japanese populations. There was no evidence of association with any individual CD subphenotype. Conclusions: Variants in TNFSF15 contribute to overall CD susceptibility in European populations, although to a lesser extent than that seen in the Japanese. Further studies to define the precise disease‐causing variants as well as targeted functional studies are now required in human CD as TNFSF15 is a potential target for biological therapies.

Access by the poor in Latin America's utility reform : subsidies and service obligations

The authors address the question of infrastructure reforms in a novel way by focusing on the impact which they can have on consumers through the prices paid by different groups and on their access to the networks. They analyse original material from four Latin American countries – Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru – and two European countries – Spain and the UK. Access is especially relevant when considering immature systems which have not yet extended to cover the majority of the population, as is the case in many Latin American countries. The authors also address the widespread impact of privatization on the economy (via macroeconomic influences) and the more general issues of subsidies and regulation which are endemic to these industries. The book focuses on the reform of four sectors: telecommunications, electricity, gas, and water and sanitation.

Measuring Potential Gains from Mergers Among Electricity Distribution Companies in Turkey Using a Non-Parametric Model

Turkish electricity reform is entering a new phase through the Turkish Governments proposal to create 21 new distribution companies, 18 of them through merger. Two aspects of merger analysis are the operational cost savings and the potential production efficiency gains. This paper concentrates on the second aspect and uses a recently developed methodology to assess the potential effect of these mergers and whether these mergers are efficiency enhancing. This is performed by comparing the actual efficiency levels of observed distribution companies with the merger of proposed aggregated companies. The model is calibrated on panel data from 1999 to 2003 which include measures of physical capital and labour inputs, as well as customer and energy related outputs. The results indicate potential for considerable efficiency gains from the proposed mergers.

Identifying Fuel Poverty Using Objective and Subjective Measures

The UK Government is committed to abolishing fuel poverty amongst vulnerable households by the year 2010 and in the general population by 2016, but definition and measurement of fuel poverty remains controversial. We define a new measure of subjective household experience and explore links between this measure and the official objective definition, using a unique data set and the Family Expenditure Survey. We identify the relation between the two measures; explore the characteristics of households in each group; and how each measure is related to other household factors.

Privatisation Policy and Performance: International Perspectives.

Part 1 Privatization policy and performance - an overview. Part 2 Privatization in traditional economics: privatization in Eastern Europe what can be learned from Eastern Europe? privatization and economic reform in Mongolia, Vietnam and North Korea privatization in natural resource and energy industries. Part 3 privatization in sub-Saharan Africa: privatization in Mexico privatization in Brazil privatization in Malaysia. Part 4 Regulation in the UK: regulating the UK electricity utilities ownership reform and privatization.

Non‐Discrimination Clauses in the Retail Energy Sector

The British energy regulator has recently reviewed a non‐discrimination licence condition imposed to ensure that energy retailers charge the same mark‐up in different regions. Loyalty by many to incumbent firms necessitated heavy discounting by entrants to attract customers, which had led to regional price discrimination. Matching characteristics of the energy market to models of discrimination, we identify the necessary conditions for the licence condition to have a positive effect for consumers, and particularly ‘vulnerable’ consumers. The licence condition is likely to have reduced competition in the mainstream energy markets, which seems confirmed by the regulators subsequent review of the retail market.

Average revenue regulation and regional price structure

Abstract Some newly privatised industries in the U.K. are subject to a constraint on an average revenue yield. This paper analyses the likely effect of such a constraint on the regional pattern of the industrys prices and output, and the implications for economic efficiency, extending this analysis to other aspects of price structure. It shows that such a constraint gives the industry incentives to charge economically inefficient prices and to restrict the area which is supplied. The paper discusses why such a constraint may have been imposed and concludes with an account of U.K. industries subject to such regulation.