Citizens, Public Services and European Regulation : The Spanish Case (in Spanish)

The ongoing financial crisis has exacerbated concerns about the need to redefine the role and characteristics of regulation. In the case of public services, deregulation was justified by the benefits that would accrue to consumers, though scant attention was paid to actual consumer experience in regulatory design. New European regulatory policies of public services argue that citizens’ perspective should be considered, with the aim of improving markets functioning whilst protecting the general interest. Decisions and attitudes of citizens in Spain about two public services, electricity and telecommunications, are analysed. The novelty of this article is to contrast revealed and stated preferences, a methodology which has not yet been used in analysing public service use. Results show when and how socio-economic variables interfere in service use and satisfaction, and conclusions indicate how the results could be used to formulate policy which better addresses issues of social inclusiveness