This paper applies principles f rom game theory to the problem o f allocating the cost o f a shared facility, such as a pipeline. The theory o f cooperative games s t r ongl y suggest s t hat no method e x i s t s for allocating costs that wi l l achieve all major policy goals. We apply results...

After the currency devaluation of 2002, tariffs on public services were frozen in Argentina and public utilities contracts were put under renegotiation. The sector of water and sanitation is relatively in disadvantage with respect to other Latin American countries of the similar level of...

In the whole world there are strong discussions on how to yield a more equitable access and a more efficient provision. One issue linked to efficiency is the achievement of scale economies in the industry, and the optimal dimension of water and sanitation providers. Changes in the industrial...

This paper confronts the current European gas regulation with the emerging new energy paradigm. It argues that due to a lack of policy credibility, the hold-up problem is a serious threat that will undermine the workings of the future EU gas market. This paper explores how one could from a...

This paper presents a case study of regulation of natural gas pricing in Mexico as a case of “successful” policy research. Studies done under an academic agreement between the Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE) and the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City...

This guide provides a critical review of the economics literature on the desirability and the effects of unbundling the local loop. Firstly, we discuss recent contributions, which aim to quantify the effect of unbundling regulations on the development of broadband services. Secondly, we review...

Since the Great Depression of the 1930s, it was common knowledge in the Latin American water and sanitation sector the idea of take advantage of scale economies, typical of these natural monopolies, in a context favorable to state involvement in the activity. In parallel, the development of...

This paper performs a literature update of quantitative studies of water and sanitation services (WSS). There are 190 studies which use cost or production functions to evaluate the performance of WSS utilities. The studies examine (1) the scale, scope or density economies of utilities in a...

Public infrastructure services have been subject to dramatic regulatory reform since the 1980s in the European Union, particularly privatization, at the national level, and increased liberalization and deregulation, via the Single Market Programme. Despite this ambitious reform programme, there...

Public infrastructure services have been subject to dramatic regulatory reform since the 1980s in the European Union, particularly privatization, at the national level, and increased liberalization and deregulation, via the Single Market Programme. Despite this ambitious reform programme, there...