IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/wpaper/hal-00659458.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Spatial price homogeneity as a mechanism to reduce the threat of regulatory intervention in locally monopolistic sectors

Author

Listed:
  • Magnus Söderberg

    (CERNA i3 - Centre d'économie industrielle i3 - Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Makoto Tanaka

    (GRIPS - National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies)

Abstract

We claim that a reason for why unregulated investor-owned local monopolies do not always charge the monopoly price is that they are threatened by customer complaints that may lead to retaliations from local elected officials. When investor-owned monopolies are exposed to this threat they will mimic the price(s) of their neighbour(s); the stronger the threat, the higher the spatial price correlation. The threat increases when elected officials have pro-consumer preferences and neighbours are geographically close. The empirical analysis, based on a complete cross-sectional data set from the Swedish district heating sector in 2007, confirms the theoretical predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Magnus Söderberg & Makoto Tanaka, 2012. "Spatial price homogeneity as a mechanism to reduce the threat of regulatory intervention in locally monopolistic sectors," Working Papers hal-00659458, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00659458
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://minesparis-psl.hal.science/hal-00659458
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://minesparis-psl.hal.science/hal-00659458/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlo Cambini & Laura Rondi, 2010. "Regulatory Independence and Political Interference: Evidence from EU Mixed-Ownership Utilities’ Investment and Debt," Working Papers 2010.69, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    2. Revelli, Federico, 2006. "Performance rating and yardstick competition in social service provision," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 459-475, February.
    3. Buettner, Thiess, 2001. "Local business taxation and competition for capital: the choice of the tax rate," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2-3), pages 215-245, April.
    4. Andrew Leigh, 2005. "Economic Voting And Electoral Behavior: How Do Individual, Local, And National Factors Affect The Partisan Choice?," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 265-296, July.
    5. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring.
    6. Kelejian, Harry H. & Prucha, Ingmar R., 2010. "Specification and estimation of spatial autoregressive models with autoregressive and heteroskedastic disturbances," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 157(1), pages 53-67, July.
    7. Joskow Paul L., 2008. "Incentive Regulation and Its Application to Electricity Networks," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(4), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Gert Brunekreeft, 2004. "Regulatory Threat in Vertically Related Markets: The Case of German Electricity," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 285-305, May.
    9. Geoff Edwards & Leonard Waverman, 2006. "The Effects of Public Ownership and Regulatory Independence on Regulatory Outcomes," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 23-67, January.
    10. Avinash Dixit, 2003. "Trade Expansion and Contract Enforcement," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(6), pages 1293-1317, December.
    11. Lambert, Dayton M. & Brown, Jason P. & Florax, Raymond J.G.M., 2010. "A two-step estimator for a spatial lag model of counts: Theory, small sample performance and an application," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 241-252, July.
    12. Scott M. Gilpatric & Christian A. Vossler & Michael McKee, 2011. "Regulatory enforcement with competitive endogenous audit mechanisms," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 42(2), pages 292-312, June.
    13. Filippo Altissimo & Michael Ehrmann & Frank Smets, 2006. "Inflation persistence and price-setting behaviour in the euro area : a summary of the Inflation Persistence Network evidence," Working Paper Research 95, National Bank of Belgium.
    14. Ehrmann, Michael & Smets, Frank & Altissimo, Filippo, 2006. "Inflation persistence and price-setting behaviour in the euro area: a summary of the IPN evidence," Occasional Paper Series 46, European Central Bank.
    15. Makoto Tanaka, 2011. "The Effects of Uncertain Divestiture as Regulatory Threat," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 385-397, December.
    16. Guy Holburn & Richard Bergh, 2006. "Consumer capture of regulatory institutions: The creation of public utility consumer advocates in the United States," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 45-73, January.
    17. Rotemberg, Julio J., 2005. "Customer anger at price increases, changes in the frequency of price adjustment and monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 829-852, May.
    18. Magnus Söderberg, 2011. "The Role Of Model Specification In Finding The Influence Of Ownership And Regulatory Regime On Utility Cost: The Case Of Swedish Electricity Distribution," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 29(2), pages 178-190, April.
    19. Lin, Xu & Lee, Lung-fei, 2010. "GMM estimation of spatial autoregressive models with unknown heteroskedasticity," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 157(1), pages 34-52, July.
    20. Jean Tirole, 1988. "The Theory of Industrial Organization," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262200716, December.
    21. Magnus Söderberg, 2008. "Uncertainty and regulatory outcome in the Swedish electricity distribution sector," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 79-94, February.
    22. Brueckner, Jan K., 1998. "Testing for Strategic Interaction Among Local Governments: The Case of Growth Controls," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 438-467, November.
    23. Matsumura, Toshihiro, 1998. "Partial privatization in mixed duopoly," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 473-483, December.
    24. Bordignon, Massimo & Cerniglia, Floriana & Revelli, Federico, 2003. "In search of yardstick competition: a spatial analysis of Italian municipality property tax setting," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 199-217, September.
    25. Kelejian, Harry H & Prucha, Ingmar R, 1998. "A Generalized Spatial Two-Stage Least Squares Procedure for Estimating a Spatial Autoregressive Model with Autoregressive Disturbances," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 99-121, July.
    26. Chisari Omar & Kessides Ioannis N., 2009. "Pricing Dynamics of Network Utilities in Developing Countries," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 8(3), pages 1-21, September.
    27. Mobley, Lee R., 2003. "Estimating hospital market pricing: an equilibrium approach using spatial econometrics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 489-516, July.
    28. de Fraja, Giovanni & Delbono, Flavio, 1989. "Alternative Strategies of a Public Enterprise in Oligopoly," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 41(2), pages 302-311, April.
    29. Filippo Altissimo & Michael Ehrmann & Frank Smets, 2006. "Inflation persistence and price-setting behaviour in the euro area – a summary of the IPN evidence," Occasional Paper Series 46, European Central Bank.
    30. Timothy Besley & Stephen Coate, 2003. "Elected Versus Appointed Regulators: Theory and Evidence," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(5), pages 1176-1206, September.
    31. Driffield, Nigel & Ioannidis, Christos, 2000. "Effectiveness and effects of attempts to regulate the UK petrol industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 369-381, June.
    32. Athanassopoulos, Antreas D., 2000. "Customer Satisfaction Cues To Support Market Segmentation and Explain Switching Behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 191-207, March.
    33. Stephen Erfle & Henry McMillan, 1990. "Media, Political Pressure, and the Firm: The Case of Petroleum Pricing in the Late 1970s," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 105(1), pages 115-134.
    34. Sarah Stafford, 2007. "Can consumers enforce environmental regulations? The role of the market in hazardous waste compliance," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 83-107, February.
    35. Rafael Tella & Juan Dubra, 2014. "Anger and Regulation," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 116(3), pages 734-765, July.
    36. Amihai Glazer & Henry McMillan, 1992. "Pricing by the Firm Under Regulatory Threat," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 107(3), pages 1089-1099.
    37. Cropper, Maureen L & Deck, Leland B & McConnell, Kenneth E, 1988. "On the Choice of Functional Form for Hedonic Price Functions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(4), pages 668-675, November.
    38. Per Pettersson-Lidbom, 2008. "Do Parties Matter for Economic Outcomes? A Regression-Discontinuity Approach," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 6(5), pages 1037-1056, September.
    39. Sara Fisher Ellison & Catherine Wolfram, 2006. "Coordinating on Lower Prices: Pharmaceutical Pricing under Political Pressure," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 37(2), pages 324-340, Summer.
    40. Lutz, Stefan & Lyon, Thomas P & Maxwell, John W, 1998. "Strategic Quality Choice with Minimum Quality Standards," CEPR Discussion Papers 1793, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    41. Sara Fisher Ellison & Catherine Wolfram, 2006. "Coordinating on lower prices: pharmaceutical pricing under political pressure," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(2), pages 324-340, June.
    42. Seema Arora & Timothy N. Cason, 1996. "Why Do Firms Volunteer to Exceed Environmental Regulations? Understanding Participation in EPA's 33/50 Program," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 72(4), pages 413-432.
    43. Leidy, Michael P, 1994. "Rent Dissipation through Self-Regulation: The Social Cost of Monopoly under Threat of Reform," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 80(1-2), pages 105-128, July.
    44. Olmstead, Alan L & Rhode, Paul, 1985. "Rationing without Government: The West Coast Gas Famine of 1920," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(5), pages 1044-1055, December.
    45. Scott J. Wallsten, 2001. "An Econometric Analysis of Telecom Competition, Privatization, and Regulation in Africa and Latin America," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 1-19, March.
    46. Block, Michael K & Feinstein, Jonathan S, 1986. "The Spillover Effect of Antitrust Enforcement," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 68(1), pages 122-131, February.
    47. Paul Joskow, 2005. "Regulation and Deregulation after 25 Years: Lessons Learned for Research in Industrial Organization," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 26(2), pages 169-193, December.
    48. Lee, Lung-fei & Yu, Jihai, 2010. "Some recent developments in spatial panel data models," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 255-271, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Erik Lundin, 2017. "Price mimicking under cost-of-service regulation: the Swedish water sector," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 313-332, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bonev, Petyo & Glachant, Matthieu & Söderberg, Magnus, 2018. "A Mechanism for Institutionalised Threat of Regulation: Evidence from the Swedish District Heating Market," Economics Working Paper Series 1805, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    2. Makoto Tanaka, 2011. "The Effects of Uncertain Divestiture as Regulatory Threat," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 385-397, December.
    3. Bonev, Petyo & Glachant, Matthieu & Söderberg, Magnus, 2020. "Testing the regulatory threat hypothesis: Evidence from Sweden," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    4. Bonev, Petyo & Glachant, Matthieu & Söderberg, Magnus, 2022. "Implicit yardstick competition between heating monopolies in urban areas: Theory and evidence from Sweden," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    5. Caldeira, Emilie, 2012. "Yardstick competition in a federation: Theory and evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 878-897.
    6. Biggar, Darryl & Söderberg, Magnus, 2020. "Empirical analysis of how political ideology and ownership influence price stability in the Swedish district heating market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    7. Yihua Yu & Li Zhang & Fanghua Li & Xinye Zheng, 2013. "Strategic interaction and the determinants of public health expenditures in China: a spatial panel perspective," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 50(1), pages 203-221, February.
    8. Federico Revelli, 2005. "On Spatial Public Finance Empirics," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 12(4), pages 475-492, August.
    9. Lenka Šťastná, 2009. "Spatial Interdependence of Local Public Expenditures: Selected Evidence from the Czech Republic," Czech Economic Review, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, vol. 3(1), pages 007-025, March.
    10. Magnus Söderberg, 2010. "Informal Benchmarks as a Source of Regulatory Threat in Unregulated Utility Sectors," CESifo Working Paper Series 2973, CESifo.
    11. Carlo Cambini & Yossi Spiegel, 2016. "Investment and Capital Structure of Partially Private Regulated Firms," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 487-515, April.
    12. Geys, Benny, 2006. "Looking across borders: A test of spatial policy interdependence using local government efficiency ratings," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 443-462, November.
    13. Chatterjee, Chirantan & Kubo, Kensuke & Pingali, Viswanath, 2015. "The consumer welfare implications of governmental policies and firm strategy in markets for medicines," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 255-273.
    14. Mark Duggan & Craig Garthwaite & Aparajita Goyal, 2016. "The Market Impacts of Pharmaceutical Product Patents in Developing Countries: Evidence from India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(1), pages 99-135, January.
    15. Debarsy, Nicolas & Ertur, Cem, 2010. "Testing for spatial autocorrelation in a fixed effects panel data model," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 453-470, November.
    16. Su, Liangjun & Yang, Zhenlin, 2015. "QML estimation of dynamic panel data models with spatial errors," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 185(1), pages 230-258.
    17. Ismail Saglam, 2023. "Incentives of a monopolist for innovation under regulatory threat," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 41-66, March.
    18. Alvarez González, Luis Julián, 2008. "What Do Micro Price Data Tell Us on the Validity of the New Keynesian Phillips Curve?," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 2, pages 1-36.
    19. Badi H. Baltagi & Peter H. Egger & Michaela Kesina, 2022. "Bayesian estimation of multivariate panel probits with higher‐order network interdependence and an application to firms' global market participation in Guangdong," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(7), pages 1356-1378, November.
    20. Rincke, Johannes, 2010. "A commuting-based refinement of the contiguity matrix for spatial models, and an application to local police expenditures," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 324-330, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    regulatory threat; district heating; Sweden;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00659458. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.