Broadband Investment and the Threat of Regulation: Preventing Monopoly Exploitation or Infrastructure Construction?
Ulrich Blum, Christian Growitsch, Niels Krap
Review of Network Economics,
2007
Abstract
Recently, investments in new generation networks in Germany have been curtailed, since potential investors required this new network be unregulated. To develop a regulator's strategy that allows investments to occur but prevents monopolistic prices, we model an investor's decision problem under a threat of regulation. We show that the mere threat of a regulator's intervention may prevent supernormal profits without actual price regulation. The regulator, on the other hand, can influence both the investment decision and the investor's price via her signals on regulation probability and price.
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Die Rolle der Kommunen in der Wasserwirtschaft - Hallesches Kolloquium zur Kommunalen Wirtschaft 2005
Peter Haug, Martin T. W. Rosenfeld
Schriften des IWH,
No. 25,
2007
Abstract
Das IWH veranstaltete am 7. Juli 2005 eine Tagung zur künftigen Rolle der Kommunen bei der Wasserver- und Abwasserentsorgung. Das Kolloquium richtete sich sowohl an einschlägig tätige Wissenschaftler als auch an Praktiker der Wasserwirtschaft und Politiker. Die im vorliegenden Tagungsband gesammelten Beiträge behandeln ein breites Themenspektrum mit den Schwerpunkten Bewertung kommunaler Wirtschaftstätigkeit, empirische Untersuchungen zu Determinanten (insbesondere Organisationsstrukturen) der Effizienz und Innovationsneigung von Wasserver- und Abwasserentsorgern, Problematik räumlicher Disparitäten bei der Infrastrukturversorgung und Reformvorschläge zum Ordnungsrahmen der deutschen Wasserwirtschaft (vergleichender Wettbewerb, Erfahrungen mit Benchmarkingsystemen).
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Local Government Control and Efficiency of the Water Industry: An Empirical Analysis of Water Suppliers in East Germany
Peter Haug
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 3,
2007
Abstract
The paper deals with the effects of local governments’ interference with business affairs of publicly owned utilities. A partial model is presented to illustrate the consequences of “democratic control” for the public managers’ effort and the efficiency of local public production. To check the theoretical results empirically, a two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) is carried out for a sample of East German water suppliers. The organisational form is used as a measure for the degree of municipal control. The results of the OLS- and Tobit regression indicate an efficiency-enhancing effect of organisational forms with less distinctive control options for local politicians.
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Network investment and the threat of regulation: avoiding monopoly or infrastructure extension
Christian Growitsch, Niels Krap
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 5,
2006
Abstract
In summer 2005, Deutsche Telekom announced its plans for the buildup of a new fiber glass network. At the same time, it formulated the condition that this network was not to be regulated concerning pricing or use by other providers (network access). In order to make this investment possible, in its coalition treaty the big coalition agreed to exclude the new network from the ex-ante regulation and to include this freedom from regulation in the telecommunication law. The question is now how investments can be facilitated and, at the same time, welfare losses through monopoly gains can be avoided. Applying game theory, it can be shown that a regulation authority like the ‘Bundesnetzagentur’, which is responsible for German telecommunication sector, should signal an increasing tolerance for deviations from its calculated and determined regulatory price in the face of increasing uncertainty concerning expected cost and returns. Thus, the threat of regulation alone leads to tolerable prices, without the actual regulation taking place. In the future, the ‘Bundesnetzagentur’ should reduce information asymmetries and the optimal level of tolerance in order to achieve a more precise intervention price and a more effective threat of regulation. The effectiveness of such a threat decreases if the legislation prevents the regulation authority from using this instrument by law. Against this background, the recent Federal Government resolution from March 17th 2006 noveling the telecommunication law heads for the economically right direction but it has to prove its incentive compatibility in the daily legal practice.
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Network Investment and the Threat of Regulation – Preventing Monopoly Exploitation or Infrastructure Construction?
Ulrich Blum, Christian Growitsch, Niels Krap
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 7,
2006
Abstract
In summer 2005, the German telecommunication incumbent Deutsche Telekom announced its plans to build a new broadband fibre optics network. Deutsche Telekom decided as precondition for this new network not to be regulated with respect to pricing and third party access. To develop a regulator's strategy that allows investments and prevents monopolistic prices at the same time, we model an incumbent's decision problem under a threat of regulation in a game-theoretical context. The decision whether to invest or not depends on the probability of regulation and its assumed impact on investment returns. Depending on the incumbent's expectation on these parameters, he will decide if the investment is favourable, and which price to best set. This price is below a non-regulated profit maximising price, since the incumbent tries to circumvent regulation. Thus, we show that the mere threat of a regulator's intervention might prevent supernormal profits without actual price regulation. The regulator, on the other hand, can influence both investment decision and the incumbent's price via his signals on regulation probability and price. These signals an be considered optimal, if they simultaneously allow investment and minimize the incumbent's price.
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Economies of Scope in European Railways: An Efficiency Analysis
Christian Growitsch, Heike Wetzel
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 5,
2006
Abstract
In the course of railway reforms in the end of the last century, national European governments, as well the EU Commission, decided to open markets and to separate railway networks from train operations. Vertically integrated railway companies – companies owning a network and providing transport services – argue that such a separation of infrastructure and operations would diminish the advantages of vertical integration and would therefore not be suitable to raise economic welfare. In this paper, we conduct a pan-European analysis to investigate the performance of European railways with a particular focus on economies of vertical integration. We test the hypothesis that integrated railways realise economies of joint production and, thus, produce railway services on a higher level of efficiency. To determine whether joint or separate production is more efficient we apply a Data Envelopment Analysis super-efficiency bootstrapping model which relates the efficiency for integrated production to a virtual reference set consisting of the separated production technology. Our findings are that in a majority of European Railway companies exist economies of scope.
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The role of municipalities in water management - a conference report
Peter Haug, Birger Nerré
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 10,
2005
Abstract
At the 7th July 2005, the IWH under the auspices of the department of urban economics hosted a conference on the perspectives of municipal business activity in the range of water supply and disposal. Primary concern of the event was to determine the future role of municipalities. The colloquium was directed towards scientists, practitioners and politicians acting in the range of water management. The contributions addressed a wide range of topics, with the following emphases: benchmarking of municipal economic activity, empirical analyses on the efficiency and the propensity to invest, the problem of spatial disparities within the supply of infrastructure, reform suggestions for the framework of rules of the German water management. The lectures were followed by a panel discussion, attended by representatives from politics, organizations and science.
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Non-market Allocation in Transport: A Reassessment of its Justification and the Challenge of Institutional Transition
Ulrich Blum
50 Years of Transport Research: Experiences Gained and Major Challenges Ahead,
2005
Abstract
Economic theory knows two systems of coordination: through public choice or through the market principle. If the market is chosen, then it may either be regulated, or it may be fully competitive (or be in between these two extremes). This paper first inquires into the reasons for regulation, it analyses the reasons for the important role of government in the transportation sector, especially in the procurement of infrastructure. Historical reasons are seen as important reasons for bureaucratic objections to deregulation. Fundamental economic concepts are forwarded that suggest market failure and justify a regulatory environment. The reasons for regulation cited above, however, may be challenged; we forward theoretical concepts from industrial organization theory and from institutional economics which suggest that competition is even possible on the level of infrastructure. The transition from a strongly regulated to a competitive environment poses problems that have given lieu to numerous failures in privatization and deregulation. Structural inertia plays an important role, and the incentive-compatible management of infrastructure is seen as the key element of any liberal transportation policy. It requires that the setting of rules on the meta level satisfies both local and global efficiency ends. We conclude that, in market economies, competition and regulation should not be substitutes but complements. General rules, an "ethic of competition" have to be set that guarantee a level playing field to agents; it is complimented by institutions that provide arbitration in case of misconduct.
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Quality of Service, Efficiency, and Scale in Network Industries: An Analysis of European Electricity Distribution
Christian Growitsch, Tooraj Jamasb, Michael Pollitt
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 3,
2005
Abstract
Quality of service is of major economic significance in natural monopoly infrastructure industries and is increasingly addressed in regulatory schemes. However, this important aspect is generally not reflected in efficiency analysis of these industries. In this paper we present an efficiency analysis of electricity distribution networks using a sample of about 500 electricity distribution utilities from seven European countries. We apply the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) method on multi-output translog input distance function models to estimate cost and scale efficiency with and without incorporating quality of service. We show that introducing the quality dimension into the analysis affects estimated efficiency significantly. In contrast to previous research, smaller utilities seem to indicate lower technical efficiency when incorporating quality. We also show that incorporating quality of service does not alter scale economy measures. Our results emphasise that quality of service should be an integrated part of efficiency analysis and incentive regulation regimes, as well as in the economic review of market concentration in regulated natural monopolies.
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Declining population and rising costs for municipal services
Peter Haug
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 11,
2004
Abstract
Population decrease in many East-German towns and municipalities does not only increase the stock of empty residential buildings. It also makes provision of network-related goods and services more costly. Considering public water and sewerage services as example, the article investigates empirically how costs of provision per inhabitant depend on population number and -density. Diverging from similar studies, spatial differences in distribution costs per inhabitant are calculated within the area of a case study municipality. The calculations are based on cost accounting data of the local provider. A central problem is the choice of an appropriate spatial key figure to allocate costs. The results indicate cost advantages in providing densely populated quarters with network-related services. Consequently, rising per-capita costs should be taken into account to a greater extent for the city conversion programmes in East Germany than they have been up to now.
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