Broad-based commodity price declines occurred in the second half of 2014. Crude oil prices declined the most, down 55 percent to $47 per bbl (barrel) in early January, from a high of $115 per bbl in late-June 2014, bringing an end to a four-year period of high and stable prices. The oil price...

This paper discusses issues and explores options related to the reform of the power sector regulatory system in China. It reviews the power sector's current situation and impediments to reform, examines the relationship between power sector structure and regulation, and suggests several...

Hydro resources are provided by nature. The exploitation of such resources can generate significant economic rent to the owners. In the past, governments have usually claimed ownership of hydroelectric resources and passed on the rents to their state-owned utilities, which have used them to...

Governments across the developing world have made rural electrification a high priority over the last two decades. Yet despite the rapid expansion of the power sector during this period, by 1990, only about 44 percent of the more than 3.3 billion people living in rural areas had access to...