IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/use/tkiwps/1924.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The energy transition: Does ownership matter for realizing public interest objectives?

Author

Listed:
  • P.W.J. de Bijl
  • Helanya Fourie

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between local public ownership and the sustainability mission of companies in the energy transition. Public ownership may matter due to "contractual incompleteness" where legislation and regulation fall short in dealing with market failures or addressing public interests. Ownership provides a measure of influence and control over the mission and strategy of a company, which is important considering the unanticipated consequences of the energy transition. The role of municipal ownership is underlined by the growing popularity of district heating and cooling systems and the impact of the energy transition on the urban environment. Highlights • It’s impossible to anticipate and regulate all consequences of the energy transition • Market failure may arise due contractual incompleteness • Public ownership can align the objectives of energy companies with public interests • Spatial impacts of the energy transition require shareholders with local interests

Suggested Citation

  • P.W.J. de Bijl & Helanya Fourie, 2019. "The energy transition: Does ownership matter for realizing public interest objectives?," Working Papers 19-24, Utrecht School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:use:tkiwps:1924
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/394048/19_24.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Willems, Bert & Mulder, M., 2016. "Competition in Retail Electricity Markets : An Assessment of Ten Years Dutch Experience," Other publications TiSEM 072ddbca-1c36-4c2c-a4eb-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Francois, Patrick, 2000. "'Public service motivation' as an argument for government provision," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(3), pages 275-299, November.
    3. Barbara Bartkus & Myron Glassman, 2008. "Do Firms Practice What They Preach? The Relationship Between Mission Statements and Stakeholder Management," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 207-216, December.
    4. Chittum, Anna & Østergaard, Poul Alberg, 2014. "How Danish communal heat planning empowers municipalities and benefits individual consumers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 465-474.
    5. Wustenhagen, Rolf & Wolsink, Maarten & Burer, Mary Jean, 2007. "Social acceptance of renewable energy innovation: An introduction to the concept," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 2683-2691, May.
    6. Gailing, Ludger & Röhring, Andreas, 2016. "Is it all about collaborative governance? Alternative ways of understanding the success of energy regions," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 237-245.
    7. Oliver Hart, 2003. "Incomplete Contracts and Public Ownership: Remarks, and an Application to Public-Private Partnerships," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(486), pages 69-76, March.
    8. Tanrisever, Fehmi & Derinkuyu, Kursad & Jongen, Geert, 2015. "Organization and functioning of liberalized electricity markets: An overview of the Dutch market," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1363-1374.
    9. John E. Kwoka, 2005. "The comparative advantage of public ownership: evidence from U.S. electric utilities," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(2), pages 622-640, May.
    10. Oliver Hart & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1127-1161.
    11. Clifton, Judith & Fuentes, Daniel Diaz & Warner, Mildred, 2016. "The loss of public values when public shareholders go abroad," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 134-143.
    12. Maskin, Eric, 2002. "On indescribable contingencies and incomplete contracts," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(4-5), pages 725-733, May.
    13. John Kwoka, 2005. "The comparative advantage of public ownership: evidence from U.S. electric utilities," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 622-640, May.
    14. van der Schoor, Tineke & Scholtens, Bert, 2015. "Power to the people: Local community initiatives and the transition to sustainable energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 666-675.
    15. Fiorio, Carlo V. & Florio, Massimo, 2013. "Electricity prices and public ownership: Evidence from the EU15 over thirty years," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 222-232.
    16. Marga Edens, 2017. "Public value tensions for Dutch DSOs in times of energy transition," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, , vol. 18(1-2), pages 132-149, March.
    17. Sanya Carley, 2011. "The Era of State Energy Policy Innovation: A Review of Policy Instruments," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 28(3), pages 265-294, May.
    18. Philippe BANCE, 2015. "Public Enterprises And Production Of Global Public Goods: The Effectiveness Of Internalizing Public Missions In Relation To Climate Issues," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(4), pages 703-718, December.
    19. Ronan Bolton & Timothy J Foxon, 2013. "Urban Infrastructure Dynamics: Market Regulation and the Shaping of District Energy in UK Cities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(9), pages 2194-2211, September.
    20. Matthew Ellman, 2006. "Does privatising public service provision reduce accountability?," Economics Working Papers 997, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    21. Philippe BANCE & Gabriel OBERMANN, 2015. "Serving The General Interest With Public Enterprises - New Forms Of Governance And Trends In Ownership," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(4), pages 529-534, December.
    22. Sterlacchini, Alessandro, 2012. "Energy R&D in private and state-owned utilities: An analysis of the major world electric companies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 494-506.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Paul H. Jensen & Robin E. Stonecash, 2004. "The Efficiency of Public Sector Outsourcing Contracts: A Literature Review," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2004n29, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    2. Laure ATHIAS & Raphael SOUBEYRAN, 2012. "Less Risk, More Effort: Demand Risk Allocation in Incomplete Contracts," Working Papers 12-20, LAMETA, Universtiy of Montpellier, revised Jun 2012.
    3. Fremeth, Adam R. & Holburn, Guy L.F., 2020. "The impact of political directors on corporate strategy for government-owned utilities: Evidence from Ontario's electricity distribution sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Athias, Laure & Wicht, Pascal, 2014. "Cultural Biases in Public Service Delivery: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Approach," MPRA Paper 60639, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Fumagalli, Elena & Garrone, Paola & Grilli, Luca, 2007. "Service quality in the electricity industry: The role of privatization and managerial behavior," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 6212-6224, December.
    6. Hans Gersbach & Maija Halonen-Akatwijuka, 2005. "Mixing Private and Public Service Providers and Specialization," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 05/131, The Centre for Market and Public Organisation, University of Bristol, UK.
    7. Paul Grout & Silvia Sonderegger, 2006. "Simple money-based tests for choosing between private and public delivery: a discussion of the issues," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 29(1), pages 93-126, September.
    8. Committee, Nobel Prize, 2016. "Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström: Contract Theory," Nobel Prize in Economics documents 2016-1, Nobel Prize Committee.
    9. Athias, Laure, 2007. "Political accountability, incentives, and Contractual design of public private partnerships," MPRA Paper 10538, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Paul H. Jensen & Robin E. Stonecash, 2005. "Incentives and the Efficiency of Public Sector‐outsourcing Contracts," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(5), pages 767-787, December.
    11. Eduard Marinov, 2016. "The 2016 Nobel Prize in Economics," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 97-149.
    12. David Martimort & Flavio Menezes & Myrna Wooders & ELISABETTA IOSSA & DAVID MARTIMORT, 2015. "The Simple Microeconomics of Public-Private Partnerships," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 17(1), pages 4-48, February.
    13. Yukari Fukuda & Jun-ichi Nakamura, 2021. "Economic Analysis of Public-Private Partnerships in Japan: Theoretical and Empirical Analyses Focusing on Adverse Selection and Synergy Effect," Public Policy Review, Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance Japan, vol. 17(2), pages 1-27, November.
    14. Antonio Sánchez Soliño, 2019. "Sustainability of Public Services: Is Outsourcing the Answer?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-12, December.
    15. Hoppe, Eva I. & Kusterer, David J. & Schmitz, Patrick W., 2013. "Public–private partnerships versus traditional procurement: An experimental investigation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 145-166.
    16. Chen, Bin R. & Chiu, Y. Stephen, 2010. "Public-private partnerships: Task interdependence and contractibility," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 591-603, November.
    17. Hans Pitlik & Michael Klien & Stefan Schiman, 2017. "Stabilitätskonforme Berücksichtigung nachhaltiger öffentlicher Investitionen," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 60595, February.
    18. Zheng Wang & John S. Heywood & Guangliang Ye, 2020. "Optimal mixed ownership: A contract view," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 45-68, January.
    19. repec:tur:wpaper:9 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Ernst Fehr & Michael Powell & Tom Wilkening, 2014. "Handing Out Guns at a Knife Fight: Behavioral Limitations of Subgame-Perfect Implementation," CESifo Working Paper Series 4948, CESifo.
    21. Paul Walker, 2016. "From complete to incomplete (contracts): A survey of the mainstream approach to the theory of privatisation," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 212-229, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    energy transition; public ownership; incomplete contracts;
    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:use:tkiwps:1924. 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: Marina Muilwijk (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eiruunl.html .

    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.