Natural Monopoly Regulation: Principles and Practice

by Sanford V. Berg, John Tschirhart

Overview

Considered the cutting edge of microeconomic theory in the 1970s, natural monopoly research remains an active and fertile field. Policy makers and regulators have begun to implement entry and pricing policies that are based on theoretical and empirical analyses. This book develops a comprehensive framework for analyzing natural monopoly. The authors first present a historical overview of regulatory economics, followed by analyses of optimal pricing and investment for single- and multiproduct natural monopolies. Topics covered include cost and demand structures, efficiency impacts of linear and multipart pricing, peak-load pricing, capacity determination, and the sustainability of natural monopolies. After a survey and analysis of natural monopoly regulation in practice, the links between technological change and regulation are identified. The book concludes with a discussion of the alternatives to traditional regulation, including public ownership, franchise schemes, quality regulation, and new incentive systems. Throughout the book, issues from the telecommunications and energy industries are used to illustrate key points. Its integrated framework will make it useful to academic economists, regulatory analysts, business researchers, and advanced students of public utility economics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521338936
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/27/1989
Series:	Cambridge Surveys of Economic Literature
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	580
Product dimensions:	5.47(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.26(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to regulatory economics; Part I. Optimal pricing and investment for natural monopolies: 2. Natural monopoly and the justification for regulation; 3. Efficient pricing using linear prices; 4. Efficient pricing using nonlinear prices; 5. Peak-load pricing; 6. Pricing and capacity under stochastic demand; 7. Sustainability of natural monopolies; Part II. Natural monopoly regulation in practice: 8. Regulation in practice: Why and how are firms regulated?; 9. Models of regulatory constraints; 10. Technological change under regulation; 11. Partial regulation, deregulation, and diversification; 12. Alternatives to traditional regulation.