Water service to the urban poor presents challenges to political leaders, regulators and managers. We identify technology mixes of yard taps, public water points (with and without pre-paid meters) to meet alternative constraints, and reflecting populations served and investment requirements....

This note re-estimates our model of the determinants and impacts of cost component incentive regulation using an improved data set which avoids double-counting firm observations. It also tests alternative specifications of the relationships. While cost component incentive regulation improves...

This note draws upon the theories of externalities and public goods to analyze the determinants of compatibility in an industry. It shows how choices by individual firms affect compatibility among products. Incompatibility, the coexistence of different technical standards for a basic product,...

Is the incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) a natural monopolist? The analysis indicates that the LEC cost function is not supportable: LECs appear to be either nonsustainable natural monopolies or nonnatural monopolies the set of services they currently offer. However, recent technological...

This empirical study examines the determinants and impacts of incentive regulations introduced by utility commissions in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rewards for generating plant utilization and low heat rates were found to have been introduced in states whose firms exhibited relatively high...