In this paper we investigate the factors contributing to the fall in the Lerner Index (price-cost margin) in the British electricity market during the 90s. A first stage of our analysis models the number of breaks in the Lerner Index and their dating as unknowns. Our results suggest the...

\We analyze the time-series of prices in the Spanish electricity market by means of a time varying-transition-probability Markov switching model. Accounting for changes in demand and cost conditions (which reflect changes in input costs, capacity availability and hydro power), we show that the...

We empirically test some implications from location theory using the location of Los Angeles area gasoline stations in physical space and in the space of product attributes. We consider the effect of demand patterns, entry costs, and several proxies for competition -- the total number of...

The strategies of rent appropriation and market structure are inter- dependent. How firms use patents depends upon industry structure, and in turn, affects industry structure. In the early part of the history of the chemical industry, market leaders combined patents and secrecy to deter entry....

This paper explores the relationship between the structure of the market for the refining and distribution of gasoline and the wholesale price of unbranded gasoline sold to independent gasoline retailers. Theoretically, the effect of an increase in vertical integration is ambiguous because...

In this paper, we discuss the role of cable television networks and their ownership structure in promoting competition in the local access market. First, we show that the dual ownership of a local telephone network and a cable network, compared with separate ownership, may increase or decrease...

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires all incumbent local telephone companies to provide local entrants with access to various facilities and services of incumbents' local networks. In the case of Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) providing such cooperation is a pre-requisite for...

We ask under what conditions transmission contracts increase or mitigate market power. We show that the allocation process of transmission rights is crucial. In an efficiently arbitraged uniform price auction generators will only obtain contracts that mitigate their market power. However, if...

This paper studies the impact of electricity deregulation and restructuring on research and development (R&D) expenditures of investor owned utilities. The differing pace of deregulation in the fifty states provides heterogeneity in institutional structure and competitive forces, and showcases...

This paper analyzes the impact of changing market structure on environmental research expenditure by investor owned utilities in the US electricity sector for the period 1989-1997. The main finding suggests that after controlling for firm characteristics and the “greenness” of the state,...