The residential UK electricity market was opened for the first time in 1999, introducing choice of supplier, and about 40% of households changed supplier in the first four years. After three years price caps were removed. We review this process and assess the competitiveness of the market by...

As residential energy markets open to competition, consumers can choose from a range of tariffs offered by different suppliers. We examine the relationship between the fixed charge levied on each consumer, and the variable charge per unit of energy used across all these tariffs. Data are the...

The residential UK electricity market was opened for the first time in 1999, introducing choice of supplier, and about 40% of households changed supplier in the first four years. After three years price caps were removed. We review this process and assess the competitiveness of the market by...

As residential energy markets open to competition, consumers can choose from a range of tariffs offered by different suppliers. We examine the relationship between the fixed charge levied on each consumer, and the variable charge per unit of energy used across all these tariffs. Data are the...

The paper focuses on the innovative French broadband Internet industry that is characterised by inertia phenomena in terms of technology choice. We argue that although inertia on the supply side helps to explain the faster diffusion of ADSL, a more complete picture can be obtained when we...

The existence of costs to consumers to switch between products is central to the process by which firms set prices. Their effect on the introduction and diffusion of innovative technologies is not by now well understood, however. This paper aims to study this effect based on evidence in the...

La libéralisation de l'activité d'un secteur économique à céder des actifs des entreprises historiques à de nouveaux entrants. Dans cet article, nous montrerons que lorsqu'il s'agit d'une activité à risque, le gain de la fragmentation de cette activité ne peut être évalué sans...

The opening up of the UK residential electricity sector in 1999 prompted several studies of the impact this had on both the level and structuring of retail charges, and on incumbent players’ market power. Drawing on observations of regional tariffs for the month of January 2004, this paper...

The three-tier inclining block tariff (‘‘IBT’’) issued by the Chinese government in 2010 is focusing attention of energy economists, among whom Lin and Jiang (2012. Designation and influence of household increasing block electricity tariffs in China. Energy Policy 42, 164–173) who...