The last few years have seen a major restructuring of network industries around the world. This has also occurred in the Netherlands. The changes are the result of liberalisation projects initiated by the Dutch government and follow EU Directives. Both theoretical and empirical research suggest that introducing competition in monopolistic network industries can improve welfare significantly. To see whether this conclusion holds for the Netherlands, we carry out three case studies of network industries that are in the midst of a far-reaching liberalisation process: telecommunications, gas and electricity. Changes in competition are measured in the context of an analytical framework that could also be used for other industries. The results suggest that competition has increased moderately in all three sectors. The limited availability of data and the relatively short time-span since the beginning of the liberalisation process make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions.
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Paper provided by Netherlands Central Bank, Monetary and Economic Policy Department in its series MEB Series (discontinued) with number
2001-13.