Non-uniform indirect taxes treat equals and those unequal differently (horizontal inequity and vertical redistribution). Horizontal inequity is caused by taste differences among similar households, but some excises are designed to reflect social, not revealed, preferences. We apply two...

This paper contributes to the debate on investment in transport infrastructure and the allocation of public funds between road and railway projects. We use a consistent social cost-benefit methodology to appraise investment in typical new inter-urban road and rail project. Our results suggest...

Three years after the controversial change of the British market design from compulsory Pool with capacity payments to decentralised energy-only New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA) market framework, we compare the two designs in terms of investment incentives. We review the biases of the...

In this paper the environmental benefits of optimal tolls in eight English towns are estimated. Tolls are simulated using the SATURN model (Simulation and Assignment of Traffic to Urban Road Networks) with associated software to simulate the changes in traffic patterns resulting from cordon...

Incentive regulation for networks has been an important part of the reform agenda in a number of countries. As part of this regulatory process, incentives are put in place to improve the cost efficiency of network companies by rewarding good performance relative to a predefined benchmark. The...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the lessons from the recent history of telecoms deregulation for the electricity (and by implication heat) network regulation. We do this in the context of Ofgem’s RPIX@ 20 Review of energy regulation in the UK, which considers whether RPI-X based price...

This paper discusses whether a new paradigm is necessary for independent economic regulation of electricity (and closely associated natural gas) systems. We begin by summarising the nature of the traditional model of electricity reform and the place of economic regulation within it. Next we...

The Dutch regulatory process for setting the first X-Factors in the electricity distribution sector has gone badly wrong. During two-and-a-half years four different X-Factors were published by the regulator. These X-Factors fluctuated wildly. We demonstrate that Dutch electricity consumers will...

Argentina was one of the first countries in the world to implement a comprehensive reform of its electricity sector in the recent period. Among developing countries only Chile has had a comparably comprehensive and successful reform. This paper traces the history of the Argentine reform, which...

This paper examines the course of the deregulation and privatisation of public enterprises in the UK since 1979. The UK privatisation programme has been the most significant in the OECD involving the transfer of ownership of over 7% of GDP from the public to the private sectors. We examine the...