This paper studies the real estate brokerage industry in Greater Boston, an industry with low entry barriers and substantial turnover. Using a comprehensive dataset of agents and transactions from 1998-2007, we find that entry does not increase sales probabilities or reduce the time it takes for...

The United States consumed more petroleum-based liquid fuel per capita than any other OECD-high-income country - 30 percent more than the second-highest country (Canada) and 40 percent more than the third-highest (Luxemburg). This paper examines the main channels through which reductions in U.S....

The paper examines the economic and regulatory factors that led to an explosion in wholesale power prices, supply shortages, and utility insolvencies in California's electricity sector from May 2000 to June 2001. The structure of California's restructured electricity sector and its early...

In this paper, the determinants of the provision of facilities-based lines by competitive local exchange carriers ("CLECs") are examined using data collected by the Federal Communications Commission and the entry decisions of a large, facilities-based CLEC. The multiple regression models are...

This paper is an empirical assessment of the comparative efficiency of governance structures in an environment marked by high uncertainty. We analyze the short-term impact of retail deregulation on the productive efficiency of electric utilities in the United States. We argue that there are...

Creativity is the innate human resource that economies have yet to harness its full potential in order to contribute towards global prosperity, cultural exchange and social justice. Creativity is the inspirational energy and knowledge that spur many individuals, including young men and women, to...

In theory, X-factor regulation provides better incentives for cost reduction than previously widely-used rate-of-return regulation. However, a deeper look into how this factor is effectively estimated shows the regulator enjoys a great deal of discretion, especially when selecting the...

Any infrastructure reformers concerned with social issues in a developing country need to address two problems. The first is increasing access by the poor, and the second is ensuring consumption affordability, i.e. the ability of the poor to pay for both consumption and the amortization of the...

The paper discusses and summarises the principal findings of the various articles in the report. It also develops the theme of ensuring value for government expenditures through inter alia PPPs and PFIs. Government expenditures on vital social services with vast positive external effects need to...

IIR 2002 focuses on one of the most fundamental building blocks of a reform agenda, namely, governance frameworks for commercialization. It was in December 2000 that we first mooted the subject of governance for this issue of the IIR. Subsequent developments, such as the Enron saga, the Orissa...