IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/annpce/v76y2005i1p5-33.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

UK Utility Regulation: Licences, Commitment and Judicial Review

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Harker

Abstract

**: This paper analyses critically the claim made by Levy and Spiller that, in the context of UK utility regulation, licences operate as a ‘technology of commitment’. The functional logic of delegation which underpins much principal–agent analyses is discussed, together with the credibility problem emerging from a divergence between a principal's long‐term and short‐term policies. Levy and Spiller contend that the UK has a successful model of utility regulation in part because of the use of licences which restrict the regulator from deviating from the broad substantive principles settled at the time of vesting. This contention is examined through the detailed consideration of five judicial review cases which have cast light on how, and to what extent, the licences restrict regulatory discretion.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Harker, 2005. "UK Utility Regulation: Licences, Commitment and Judicial Review," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(1), pages 5-33, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:76:y:2005:i:1:p:5-33
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1370-4788.2005.00269.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1370-4788.2005.00269.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1370-4788.2005.00269.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Moe, Terry M, 1990. "Political Institutions: The Neglected Side of the Story," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(0), pages 213-253.
    2. Giandomenico Majone, 2000. "The Credibility Crisis of Community Regulation," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 273-302, June.
    3. Spiller, Pablo T, 1996. "Institutions and Commitment," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 5(2), pages 421-452.
    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. Andrés Pavón Mediano, 2020. "Agencies’ formal independence and credible commitment in the Latin American regulatory state: A comparative analysis of 8 countries and 13 sectors," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(1), pages 102-120, January.
    2. Laurenz Ennser‐Jedenastik, 2016. "Do parties matter in delegation? Partisan preferences and the creation of regulatory agencies in Europe," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(3), pages 193-210, September.
    3. Yannick Perez, 2006. "La gestion de l'incertitude et de l'opportunisme dans les décisions publiques Les enseignements des réformes électriques concurrentielles," Post-Print hal-04297587, HAL.
    4. Perez, Yannick & Ramos-Real, Francisco Javier, 2009. "The public promotion of wind energy in Spain from the transaction costs perspective 1986-2007," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 1058-1066, June.
    5. Stirton, Lindsay & Lodge, Martin, 2002. "Embedding regulatory autonomy: the reform of Jamaican telecommunications regulation 1988-2001," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 35986, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. 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.
    7. Sandra Eckert, 2018. "Two spheres of regulation: Balancing social and economic goals," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(2), pages 177-191, June.
    8. Montoya, Miguel A. & Trillas, Francesc, 2007. "The measurement of the independence of telecommunications regulatory agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 182-190, September.
    9. Catherine Locatelli & Sylvain Rossiaud, 2011. "A neoinstitutionalist interpretation of the changes in the Russian oil model," Post-Print halshs-00631115, HAL.
    10. Pablo T. Spiller, 2003. "The Institutional Foundations of Public Policy: A Transactions Approach with Application to Argentina," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 281-306, October.
    11. Lindemann, Henrik, 2015. "Does Regulatory Independence Translate into a Higher Degree of Liberalization? - Evidence from EU Energy Regulators," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-545, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    12. repec:bla:jcmkts:v:47:y:2009:i::p:483-506 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Alston, Lee J. & Melo, Marcus André & Mueller, Bernardo & Pereira, Carlos, 2006. "Political Institutions, Policymaking Processes and Policy Outcomes in Brazil," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3365, Inter-American Development Bank.
    14. Lampropoulou, Manto & Ladi, Stella, 2020. "The role and performance of independent regulatory agencies in post-crisis Greece," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103705, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Monios, Jason & Wilmsmeier, Gordon, 2013. "The role of intermodal transport in port regionalisation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 161-172.
    16. Ajit Karnik, 2005. "Why Do Governments Lack “Political Will†? An Explanation," Working Papers id:102, eSocialSciences.
    17. Manuel A. Abdala, 2001. "Institutions, Contracts and Regulation of Infrastructure in Argentina," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 217-254, November.
    18. Filippo BELLOC & Antonio NICITA, 2011. "Liberalization-privatization paths: policies and politics," Departmental Working Papers 2011-32, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    19. Christopher Gandrud & Mark Hallerberg, 2015. "Does Banking Union Worsen the EU's Democratic Deficit? The Need for Greater Supervisory Data Transparency," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 769-785, July.
    20. Eika, Kari, 2004. "When quality today affects service needs tomorrow," Memorandum 18/2004, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    21. Erkan Erdogdu, 2014. "The Political Economy of Electricity Market Liberalization: A Cross-country Approach," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).

    More about this item

    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:bla:annpce:v:76:y:2005:i:1:p:5-33. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1370-4788 .

    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.