This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the theoretical and empirical literature on the regulation of natural monopolies. It covers alternative definitions of natural monopoly, regulatory goals, alternative regulatory institutions, price regulation with full information, regulation...

Current trends in electricity consumption imply that hundreds of new fossil-fuel power plants will be built in the United States over the next several decades. Power plant siting has become increasingly contentious, in part because power plants are a source of numerous negative local...

Ambient observations have indicated that high concentrations of ozone observed in the Houston/Galveston area are associated with plumes of highly reactive hydrocarbons, mixed with NOBxB, from industrial facilities. Ambient observations and industrial process data, such as mass flow rates for...

Since the start of its economic reforms in 1978, China's energy prices relative to other prices have increased. At the same time, its energy intensity, i.e., energy consumption per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has declined dramatically, by about 70%, in spite of increases in energy...

We show that standard statistical tests of OPEC behavior have very low power across a wide range of alternative hypotheses regarding market structure. Consequently, it is difficult, given the current availability and precision of data on demand and costs, to distinguish collusive from...

Although the allocative efficiency benefits of competition are a tenet of microeconomic theory, the relation between competition and technical efficiency is less well understood. Neoclassical models of profit-maximization subsume static cost-minimizing behavior regardless of market...

The Chicago cap-and-trade approach to regulating stationary source VOC emissions in the Chicago ozone non-attainment area is a pioneering program that could set a precedent for other urban areas troubled by high ozone concentrations. It holds out the promise of cost-effectiveness, innovation...

The objective of this paper is to analyze the development of US natural gas infrastructure over the last two decades and to discuss its perspectives. In particular, we focus on the relationship between the regulatory framework for the natural gas sector and the development of investment in LNG...

Due to variations in weather and atmospheric chemistry, the timing and location of nitrogen oxide (NOX) reductions determine their effectiveness in reducing ground-level ozone, which adversely impacts human health. Electric generating plants are the primary stationary sources of NOX in most...

This paper argues that an increased application of quasi-experimental and experimental techniques will improve understanding about core environmental economics questions. This argument is supported by a review of the limitations of associational evidence in assessing causal hypotheses. The paper...