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Distributional effects of liberalising UK residential utility markets

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Author Info
Catherine Waddams
Ruth Hancock
Abstract

Competition is being extended into residential utility markets world-wide; the European directives on telecoms, electricity and gas will extend choice throughout the European Union by the turn of the century. In the UK, the Privatisation Acts not only changed the ownership of utilities, but imposed a duty on the regulators to encourage competition. It is the introduction of competition,actual and potential, that has been the main force behind changing the relative prices charged to different consumers, particularly in the residential market. We use household-level data to identify the distributional impact, particularly on vulnerable households and those for whom regulators have special responsibilities. We find a mixed outcome, with some vulnerable households, especially pensioners, adversely affected; we suggest potential compensation mechanisms that could improve welfare by enabling the benefits of competition in these industries supplying essential services to be gained without harming the most vulnerable households.

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Article provided by Institute for Fiscal Studies in its journal Fiscal Studies.

Volume (Year): 19 (1998)
Issue (Month): 3 (August)
Pages: 295-319
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Handle: RePEc:ifs:fistud:v:19:y:1998:i:3:p:295-319

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing - - - General
I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Newbery, David M & Pollitt, Michael G, 1997. "The Restructuring and Privatization of Britain's CEGB--Was It Worth It?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(3), pages 269-303, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Philip Burns & Ian Crawford & Andrew Dilnot, 1995. "Regulation and redistribution in utilities," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 1-22, January. [Downloadable!]
  3. ., ., 1997. "," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 127-127, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Banks, James & Blundell, Richard & Lewbel, Arthur, 1996. "Tax Reform and Welfare Measurement: Do We Need Demand System Estimation?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(438), pages 1227-41, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Chisari, Omar O. & Estache, Antonio & Waddams Price, Catherine, 2001. "Access by the Poor in Latin America's Utility Reform Subsidies and Service Obligations," Working Papers UNU-WIDER Research Paper , World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER). [Downloadable!]
  2. Parker, David, 2004. "The UK's Privatisation Experiment: The Passage of Time Permits a Sober Assessment," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  3. Dilip Mookherjee & David McKenzie, 2001. "The Distributive Impact of Privatization in Latin America: Evidence from Four Countries," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-128, Boston University - Department of Economics, revised 2002. [Downloadable!]
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