Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) based cost norms have attractive properties in the regulation of natural monopolies. However, they are also sensitive to the choice of cost drivers. When some of the cost drivers are discretionary, this may lead to suboptimal incentives. When a regulated firm...

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) based cost norms are widely used to regulate natural monopolies like water, electricity, and gas networks. In the typical application, demand is considered fixed and non-controllable (non-discretionary), and the challenge is to incentivize the monopoly to provide...

In this paper, we discuss the pros and cons of using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate and enhance the efficiency of natural resource management. The need for a multi-dimensional production frontier approach is sketched, along with examples from other regulated multi-output industries....