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...

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...

We provide strong evidence that there are significant human resource constraints which limit the scale and, hence, the scope and potential effectiveness of electricity/energy regulatory agencies in developing countries. We summarise the key findings in our earlier Domah, Pollitt and Stern paper...

Liberalisation has had a marked effect on innovative activities in the electricity industry. R&D and patenting activities are generally regarded respectively as innovative inputs to and outputs from technological progress. Electricity reforms have resulted in a reduction in R&D spending in the...

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 explores demand side management (DSM) strategies, including both demand response and energy efficiency policies. The aim is to uncover what features might strengthen DSM effectiveness. We first look at key features of residential energy demand and the limits to energy indicators. We...

It is around 5 years since my colleague, Tooraj Jamasb, and I reviewed the EU’s progress with electricity reform (Jamasb and Pollitt, 2005). At that time many countries were still struggling to implement elements of the EU wide policy on electricity sector liberalisation that they had signed...

More and more companies in the UK are developing strategies to address the challenges of climate change. We focus on the UK retail sector and explore the role of partnership in shaping the climate change commitments and actions taken by retail companies. We use a social capital approach to...