The function of communal water supply utilities is to provide consumers with high quality drinking water in sufficient quantities. On the other hand communal wastewater disposal utilities have to dispose the wastewater. In addition to this water prices and wastewater charges shall also give...

The research question addressed by this paper is a simple one: are European consumers happy with the services provided by the utilities after two decades of reforms? We focus on electricity, gas, water, telephone in the EU 15 Member States. The variables we analyse are consumers’ satisfaction...

Several studies have been made about the present global financial crisis that has affected real economy as well. We know the root causes and its consequences. However we found a sector that has not been examined comprehensively in inland studies on the ground of changing environment. It is worth...

We use the Shapley value and the nucleolus to analyze the impact of three controversial pipeline projects on the power structure in the Eurasian trade of natural gas. Two pipelines, `Nord Stream' and `South Stream', allow Russian gas to bypass transit countries, Ukraine and Belarus. The third...

Independent regulatory authorities are a basic prerequisite for a successful liberalization process. However, contrary to what is expected, both graphical analyses and OLS regressions for a small sample of electricity and gas regulators operating in 16 European countries reveal a negative...

In recent years we have witnessed several reforms in network industries, as privatization, regulatory changes and opening to competition in certain segments of the value chain. In sectors such as electricity and gas, this opening to competition is possible only in certain activities (i.e....

Canada’s energy sector, and the Canadian economy, would benefit from a renewed focus on pipeline review policy and regulation. Recent cases, including the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, the Keystone XL, and the Northern Gateway pipeline, highlight current challenges and the need for an improved...

Product market regulation in the non-manufacturing sectors of OECD countries: measurement and highlights This paper describes a new set of indicators that measure differences in the regulation of non-manufacturing sectors of OECD countries over the past three decades. The indicators focus on...

The research question addressed by this paper is a simple one: are European consumers happy with the services provided by the utilities after two decades of reforms? We focus on electricity, gas, water, telephone in the EU 15 Member States. The variables we analyse are consumers’ satisfaction...

The research question addressed by this paper is a simple one: are European consumers happy with the electricity supply services after two decades of reforms? We focus on self-assessed consumers’ satisfaction with electricity prices as reported in three waves of Eurobarometer survey,...