For quite a long time, network industries used to be regarded as (natural) monopolies. This was due to these industries having some special characteristics. Network externalities and economies of scale in particular justified the (natural) monopoly thesis. Recently, however, a trend towards...

In the context of a first Working Paper the authors argued that electricity has a number of characteristics that set it apart from other commodities. It was demonstrated that some of these characteristics might complicate the deregulation process. This paper analyses the ongoing deregulation...

This paper provides a survey of the main developments in the iron and steel industry over the last few decades. The first chapter covers the changing conditions on international markets and identifies the main challenges facing the companies in this sector. These include the boom in China, the...

The article looks at the financial situation of non-financial corporations in Belgium over the period from 1 January to 31 December 2013. After briefly describing the methodology and the population studied, it presents an extrapolation of the main operating result items for 2013, with a...

Each year, in the 4th quarter’s Economic Review, the Bank examines the situation regarding the annual accounts of Belgian non-financial corporations. By that time, the Central Balance Sheet Office has already collected a representative number of annual accounts for the preceding year. The...

This paper provides a survey of the main developments in the iron and steel industry over the last few decades. The first chapter covers the changing conditions on international markets and identifies the main challenges facing the companies in this sector. These include the boom in China, the...

In the context of a first Working Paper the authors argued that electricity has a number of characteristics that set it apart from other commodities. It was demonstrated that some of these characteristics might complicate the deregulation process. This paper analyses the ongoing deregulation...

For quite a long time, network industries used to be regarded as (natural) monopolies. This was due to these industries having some special characteristics. Network externalities and economies of scale in particular justified the (natural) monopoly thesis. Recently, however, a trend towards...