IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v33y2011i2p178-187.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

«Would you say that the price you pay for electricity is fair?» Consumers' satisfaction and utility reforms in the EU15

Author

Listed:
  • Fiorio, Carlo V.
  • Florio, Massimo

Abstract

The research question addressed by this paper is a simple one: are European consumers happy with the price they pay for electricity supply services after two decades of reforms? We focus on self-assessed consumers' satisfaction as reported in three waves of the Eurobarometer surveys, 2000-2002-2004, conditioning on a set of indicators of public ownership and liberalisation across the EU-15. After controlling for individual and country characteristics, we find that consumers are happier with the prices they pay when in their country there are both public ownership and liberalisation. We discuss this finding.

Suggested Citation

  • Fiorio, Carlo V. & Florio, Massimo, 2011. "«Would you say that the price you pay for electricity is fair?» Consumers' satisfaction and utility reforms in the EU15," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 178-187, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:33:y:2011:i:2:p:178-187
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140-9883(10)00076-9
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nils-Henrik M. von der Fehr, Eirik S. Amundsen and Lars Bergman, 2005. "The Nordic Market: Signs of Stress?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Special I), pages 71-98.
    2. Pollitt, Michael, 2009. "Evaluating the evidence on electricity reform: Lessons for the South East Europe (SEE) market," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 13-23, March.
    3. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    4. Reiner Martin & Moreno Roma & Isabel Vansteenkiste, 2005. "Regulatory reforms in selected EU network industries," Occasional Paper Series 28, European Central Bank.
    5. Carlo Fiorio & Massimo Florio, 2009. "The reform of network industries, privatisation and consumers’ welfare: evidence from the EU15," UNIMI - Research Papers in Economics, Business, and Statistics unimi-1088, Universitá degli Studi di Milano.
    6. Fiorio, Carlo V. & Florio, M. & Salini, S. & Ferrari, P.A., 2007. "Consumers' Attitudes on Services of General Interest in the EU: Accessibility, Price and Quality 2000-2004," Privatisation Regulation Corporate Governance Working Papers 12195, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    7. Jamasb, Tooraj & Pollitt, Michael, 2007. "Incentive regulation of electricity distribution networks: Lessons of experience from Britain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 6163-6187, December.
    8. Pollitt, Michael, 2008. "The arguments for and against ownership unbundling of energy transmission networks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 704-713, February.
    9. Alberto Alesina & Silvia Ardagna & Giuseppe Nicoletti & Fabio Schiantarelli, 2005. "Regulation And Investment," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(4), pages 791-825, June.
    10. Carlo Vittorio FIORIO & Massimo FLORIO & Silvia SALINI & Pieralda FERRARI, 2007. "European consumers’ attitudes on services of general interest: accessibility, price and quality," Departmental Working Papers 2007-04, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    11. David M. Newbery & Michael G. Pollitt, 1997. "The Restructuring and Privatisation of Britain's CEGB—Was It Worth It?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 269-303, September.
    12. Tooraj Jamasb and Michael Pollitt, 2005. "Electricity Market Reform in the European Union: Review of Progress toward Liberalization & Integration," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Special I), pages 11-42.
    13. Paul Conway & Giuseppe Nicoletti, 2006. "Product Market Regulation in the Non-Manufacturing Sectors of OECD Countries: Measurement and Highlights," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 530, OECD Publishing.
    14. Azmat, Ghazala & Manning, Alan & Van Reenen, John, 2007. "Privatization, entry regulation and the decline of labor's share of GDP: a cross-country analysis of the network industries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 4552, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Hattori, Toru & Tsutsui, Miki, 2004. "Economic impact of regulatory reforms in the electricity supply industry: a panel data analysis for OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 823-832, April.
    16. Newbery, D.M. & Pollitt, M.G., 1996. "The Restructuring and Privatisation of the CEGB: Was It Worth It?," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 9607, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    17. Millward,Robert, 2005. "Private and Public Enterprise in Europe," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521835244.
    18. Martin, Reiner & Roma, Moreno & Vansteenkiste, Isabel, 2005. "Regulatory reforms in selected EU network industries," Occasional Paper Series 28, European Central Bank.
    19. Julian A. Lampietti & Sudeshna Ghosh Banerjee & Amelia Branczik, 2007. "People and Power : Electricity Sector Reforms and the Poor in Europe and Central Asia," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7175, December.
    20. Monica Giulietti & Catherine Waddams Price & Michael Waterson, 2005. "Consumer Choice and Competition Policy: a Study of UK Energy Markets," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(506), pages 949-968, October.
    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. Pollitt, Michael G., 2012. "The role of policy in energy transitions: Lessons from the energy liberalisation era," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 128-137.
    2. Bassanini, Andrea & Brunello, Giorgio, 2011. "Barriers to entry, deregulation and workplace training: A theoretical model with evidence from Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(8), pages 1152-1176.
    3. Michelsen, Carl Christian & Madlener, Reinhard, 2015. "Beyond Technology Adoption: Homeowner Satisfaction with Newly Adopted Residential Heating Systems," FCN Working Papers 1/2015, E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN).
    4. Jimenez Mori, Raul, 2021. "It’s not price; It’s quality. Satisfaction and price fairness perception," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    5. Bastianin, Andrea & Castelnovo, Paolo & Florio, Massimo, 2018. "Evaluating regulatory reform of network industries: a survey of empirical models based on categorical proxies," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 115-128.
    6. Marino, Marianna & Parrotta, Pierpaolo & Valletta, Giacomo, 2019. "Electricity (de)regulation and innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 748-758.
    7. France Krizanic & Zan Jan Oplotnik, 2017. "Factors of Electricity Prices in Selected Eu Member States after the Financial Crisis and During Significant Market Distortions," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 7(2), pages 250-254.
    8. Andy Fred Wali, 2018. "Customer Relationship Management and Marketing Effectiveness," Paradigm, , vol. 22(2), pages 101-124, December.
    9. Codruţa Mare & Simona Laura Dragoş & Dan Tudor Lazăr & Cristian Mihai Dragoş, 2013. "Consumer protection through prices: an analysis of the energetic sector in European Union countries," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 15(34), pages 327-341, June.
    10. Wang, Zhaohua & Zhang, Bin & Zhang, Yixiang, 2012. "Determinants of public acceptance of tiered electricity price reform in China: Evidence from four urban cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 235-244.
    11. Giancarlo MANZI & Pier Alda FERRARI, "undated". "Statistical methods for evaluating satisfaction with public services Abstract: Contrary to private enterprises, public enterprises can be unaware of the impact of their performance when providing serv," CIRIEC Working Papers 1404, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.
    12. Carlo V. Fiorio & Massimo Florio, 2010. "A Fair Price for Energy? Ownership versus Market Opening in the EU15," CESifo Working Paper Series 3124, CESifo.
    13. Peter A. Groothuis & Tanga McDaniel Mohr, 2014. "Do Consumers Want Smart Meters? Incentives or Inertia: Evidence from North Carolina and Lessons for Policy," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    14. da Silva, Patrícia Pereira & Cerqueira, Pedro A., 2017. "Assessing the determinants of household electricity prices in the EU: a system-GMM panel data approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1131-1137.
    15. Michael G. Pollitt, 2019. "The European Single Market in Electricity: An Economic Assessment," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 55(1), pages 63-87, August.
    16. 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.
    17. Sebastian Jilke & Steven Van de Walle, 2013. "Two track public services? Citizens' voice behaviour towards liberalized services in the EU15," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 465-476, May.
    18. Wang, Zhaohua & Sun, Yefei & Wang, Bo, 2020. "Policy cognition is more effective than step tariff in promoting electricity saving behaviour of residents," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    19. Andrea Bastianin & Paolo Castelnovo & Massimo Florio, 2017. "The Empirics of Regulatory Reforms Proxied by Categorical Variables: Recent Findings and Methodological Issues," Working Papers 2017.22, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    20. Chiara F. DEL BO & Massimo FLORIO, 2012. "Electricity investment: an evaluation of the new British energy policy and its implications for the European Union," Departmental Working Papers 2012-15, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    21. Massimo Florio, 2014. "Energy Reforms and Consumer Prices in the EU over twenty Years," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    22. Patrícia Pereira da Silva & Pedro Cerqueira, 2014. "Drivers for Household Electricity Prices in the EU: A System-GMM Panel Data Approach," GEMF Working Papers 2014-13, GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra.
    23. Ong, Ardvin Kester S. & Prasetyo, Yogi Tri & Kishimoto, Ryuichi T. & Mariñas, Klint Allen & Robas, Kirstien Paola E. & Nadlifatin, Reny & Persada, Satria Fadil & Kusonwattana, Poonyawat & Yuduang, Nat, 2023. "Determining factors affecting customer satisfaction of the national electric power company (MERALCO) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Phillippines," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    24. Pompei, Fabrizio, 2013. "Heterogeneous effects of regulation on the efficiency of the electricity industry across European Union countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 569-585.

    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. Carlo Vittorio FIORIO & Massimo FLORIO, 2008. "Do you pay a fair price for electricity? Consumers’ satisfaction and utility reform in the EU," Departmental Working Papers 2008-12, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    2. Marino, Marianna & Parrotta, Pierpaolo & Valletta, Giacomo, 2019. "Electricity (de)regulation and innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 748-758.
    3. Erdogdu, Erkan, 2010. "Electricity Market Reform: Lessons for developing countries," MPRA Paper 27317, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Pollitt, Michael, 2009. "Evaluating the evidence on electricity reform: Lessons for the South East Europe (SEE) market," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 13-23, March.
    5. Poggi, Ambra & Florio, Massimo, 2010. "Energy deprivation dynamics and regulatory reforms in Europe: Evidence from household panel data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 253-264, January.
    6. Growitsch, Christian & Müller, Gernot & Stronzik, Marcus, 2008. "Ownership Unbundling in der Gaswirtschaft: Theoretische Grundlagen und empirische Evidenz," WIK Discussion Papers 308, WIK Wissenschaftliches Institut für Infrastruktur und Kommunikationsdienste GmbH.
    7. Jamasb, Tooraj & Pollitt, Michael, 2008. "Security of supply and regulation of energy networks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 4584-4589, December.
    8. Erdogdu, Erkan, 2013. "Essays on Electricity Market Reforms: A Cross-Country Applied Approach," MPRA Paper 47139, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Bena Jan & Ondko Peter & Vourvachaki Evangelia, 2011. "Productivity Gains from Services Liberalization in Europe," EERC Working Paper Series 11/15e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS.
    10. Carlo Stagnaro, 2014. "Privatisation in the EU Energy Sector: The Never-Ending Story," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 238-253, June.
    11. Balazs Egert, 2009. "Infrastructure Investment in Network Industries: The Role of Incentive Regulation and Regulatory Independence," CESifo Working Paper Series 2642, CESifo.
    12. Gugler, Klaus & Rammerstorfer, Margarethe & Schmitt, Stephan, 2013. "Ownership unbundling and investment in electricity markets — A cross country study," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 702-713.
    13. Bacchiocchi, Emanuele & Florio, Massimo & Taveggia, Giulia, 2015. "Asymmetric effects of electricity regulatory reforms in the EU15 and in the New Member States: Empirical evidence from residential prices 1990–2011," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 72-90.
    14. 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.
    15. Nardi, Paolo, 2012. "Transmission network unbundling and grid investments: Evidence from the UCTE countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 50-58.
    16. Schober, Dominik, 2013. "Static vs. dynamic impacts of unbundling: Electricity markets in South America," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-033, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    17. Bastianin, Andrea & Castelnovo, Paolo & Florio, Massimo, 2018. "Evaluating regulatory reform of network industries: a survey of empirical models based on categorical proxies," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 115-128.
    18. Emanuele BACCHIOCCHI & Massimo FLORIO & Marco GAMBARO, 2008. "Telecom prices, regulatory reforms, and consumers’ satisfaction: evidence for 15 EU countries," Departmental Working Papers 2008-10, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano, revised 20 Jun 2008.
    19. Meletiou, Alexis & Cambini, Carlo & Masera, Marcelo, 2018. "Regulatory and ownership determinants of unbundling regime choice for European electricity transmission utilities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 13-25.
    20. Giancarlo MANZI & Pier Alda FERRARI, "undated". "Statistical methods for evaluating satisfaction with public services Abstract: Contrary to private enterprises, public enterprises can be unaware of the impact of their performance when providing serv," CIRIEC Working Papers 1404, CIRIEC - Université de Liège.

    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:eee:eneeco:v:33:y:2011:i:2:p:178-187. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    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.