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This study examines the hypothesis that changes to high-powered incentive regulations have a positive efficiency and productivity growth effects in a regulated electricity distribution industry. We estimate an input distance function using the stochastic frontier analysis method to compute technical efficiency scores for 121 Norwegian utilities over the period 2004-2012. We explore sources of productivity growth by parametrically decomposing the Malmquist productivity index into efficiency change, technical change, and scale change. Unlike previous studies, we examine the difference in performance across two regulatory regimes: yardstick competition (2007-2012) and RPI-X incentive regulation (2004-2006). Results show significant efficiency and productivity growth improvements with embodied technical change as the main driver. Keywords: Yardstick competition, Productivity growth, Efficiency, Input distance function, Stochastic frontier analysis, Electricity distribution, True fixed effects model, 1. INTRODUCTION The electricity industry has undergone a restructuring process during the last 25 years. Competition has been introduced among generators and often also among retailers. However, system operation, transmission, [...]

In this paper, we test whether producers in the southern Norway price zone utilize information on available transmission capacity to induce transmission congestion in their price zone to exercise market power or not. Endogeneity results for import congestion suggest that congestion is endogenous during late night and morning hours implying that producers in southern Norway restrict their output to induce transmission congestion into their price zone. We find an average markup of about 19.5 percent above the marginal cost during these hours. These results point that NordPool's policy of making transmission capacity information public to ensure market transparency is not welfare maximizing as strategic producers can use this information to anticipate and induce transmission congestion into their price zone for driving prices away from the competitive levels. Keywords: Induced transmission congestion, Market power, Import capacity, NordPool, Statnett, 1. INTRODUCTION Since the liberalization of electricity markets around the world, studying the incentives for and estimating the extent of producers' market power have been on the research agenda (Borenstein [...]

In this paper, we test whether producers in the southern Norway price zone utilize information on available transmission capacity to induce transmission congestion in their price zone to exercise market power or not. Endogeneity results for import congestion suggest that congestion is endogenous during late night and morning hours implying that producers in southern Norway restrict their output to induce transmission congestion into their price zone. We find an average markup of about 19.5 percent above the marginal cost during these hours. These results point that NordPool's policy of making transmission capacity information public to ensure market transparency is not welfare maximizing as strategic producers can use this information to anticipate and induce transmission congestion into their price zone for driving prices away from the competitive levels. Keywords: Induced transmission congestion, Market power, Import capacity, NordPool, Statnett, 1. INTRODUCTION Since the liberalization of electricity markets around the world, studying the incentives for and estimating the extent of producers' market power have been on the research agenda (Borenstein [...]

The contingent valuation method used to estimate the value of changes in the quality of elk hunting experience found that the hunters' income affected their acceptance of fees for improved hunts. The willingness to pay decreased with an increase in the number of hunting days. Such nonmarket techniques are being used by wildlife managers and policy makers to improve wildlife enhancement and use. This information can be used to generate revenue for elk management.

The Double-Bounded Dichotomous-Choice (DB-DC) Contingent Valuation format is thought to yield more precise welfare estimates. Questions remain about its validity. The initial bid may represent information with which respondents update their willingness to pay. A Bayesian model of respondent decision making is estimated for two data sets. The results indicate updating or shifts in respondent willingness to pay between iterated valuations. Nonparametric testing of the welfare estimates reveals that the model incorporating updating yields different values from the standard model. The expected increases in the precision of the DB-DC welfare estimates are lost when updating occurs., I. INTRODUCTION Eliciting satisfactory estimates of nonmarket values through contingent valuation (CV) methods remains a constant struggle to avoid bias and increase precision. A potential pitfall is giving respondents unintentional [...]