New Book from NERA Economic Consulting Examines Implications of the Changing Boundary Separating Regulated and Deregulated Segments of 'Network' Industries
6 September 2007
White Plains, New York/6 September 2007 -- Defining the appropriate demarcation between regulated and deregulated activities has been a vital -- and often controversial -- issue for governments, industry, and consumers for three decades. This has been particularly true for industries that touch consumers most directly, especially electricity but also other "network" industries such as water and transport. A new book from NERA Economic Consulting examines some of the key facets of the regulation vs. deregulation vs. reregulation debates in these industries.
In The Line in the Sand: The Shifting Boundary Between Markets and Regulation in Network Industries, following a retrospective foreword by Alfred Kahn, 30 of NERA's internationally recognized expert economists analyze shifts in the boundary between those industry segments that are subject to regulation and those facing market forces, the impact those shifts are having today, and the implications of these trends for future developments in key network industries, especially electricity.
"For decades, NERA's economists have been advising and testifying on regulatory issues, for companies, governments, and regulators both in the US and around the world," said Michael Rosenzweig, Chair of the Global Energy, Environment, and Network Industries Practice at NERA. "Around the world, we have been involved in one form or another in most of the cutting-edge efforts at substituting markets for regulation. While political passions often get in the way, we have always believed that the question of deregulation vs. regulation, and where the boundary between them should lie, is at its heart an economic one. The conversations and debates over aspects of regulatory and market economics we have had during the course of our work have sparked some unique insights into the economic issues, methodologies, and techniques that will influence and drive regulatory/deregulatory trends and policies in the years ahead."
The Line in the Sand: The Shifting Boundary Between Markets and Regulation in Network Industries explores some of the most important issues in regulatory economics today -- issues at the forefront of the shifts from regulation to deregulation (and sometimes back), including:
- Are markets an appropriate way to discipline network industries?
- How real is the nascent revival of nuclear power?
- What are the long-term implications of changes in merger activity in the electricity industry?
- What regulatory and market mechanisms are emerging to deal with the carbon issue in the electricity industry?
- How can regulators and industry ensure security of power supply as market structures shift and evolve?
- What are the most effective strategies for procuring competitive generation services by regulated power distribution companies?
- Do customer choice and other economic techniques have a place in industries like water and transport?
The Line in the Sand: The Shifting Boundary Between Markets and Regulation in Network Industries reflects the thinking of some of the best minds in regulatory economics today. It is an invaluable tool for regulators, industry leaders, economists, academics, and others involved in the constantly changing regulatory issues in electricity and other network industries.
The Line in the Sand: The Shifting Boundary Between Markets and Regulation in Network Industries can be purchased from www.amazon.com with a cover price of $39.95.
About NERA
NERA Economic Consulting is an international firm of economists who understand how markets work. Our more than 45 years of experience creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony, and policy recommendations reflects our specialization in industrial and financial economics. Our global team of more than 600 professionals operates in over 20 offices across North and South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
NERA Economic Consulting (www.nera.com), founded in 1961 as National Economic Research Associates, is a unit of the Oliver Wyman Group, an MMC company.
