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Effects of Privatization on Price and Labor Efficiency: The Swedish Electricity Distribution Sector

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  • Erik Lundin

Abstract

I examine the effects of privatization, in the form of acquisitions, in the Swedish electricity distribution sector. As the majority of the distribution networks have remained publicly owned, I use a synthetic control method to identify the effects on price and labor efficiency. In comparison to their synthetic counterparts, I find that the acquired networks increased labor efficiency by 8-18 percent depending on model specification, while no effect is found on price. Thus, the evidence suggests economically meaningful efficiency gains but that these are not fed through to consumer prices. Robustness results using a conventional difference-in-differences estimator largely confirms the results, although the estimated efficiency gains are either comparable to or less pronounced than their synthetic control counterparts.

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  • Erik Lundin, 2020. "Effects of Privatization on Price and Labor Efficiency: The Swedish Electricity Distribution Sector," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 247-274.
    • Handle: RePEc:aen:journl:ej41-2-lundin
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    Cited by:

    1. Söderberg, Magnus & Vesterberg, Mattias, 2023. "How demand uncertainty influences electricity network prices under revenue-cap regulation: The case of Sweden," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    2. Vesterberg, Mattias & Zhou, Wenchao & Lundgren, Tommy, 2021. "Wind of change: Small-scale electricity production and distribution-grid efficiency in Sweden," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).

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