IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cor/louvrp/3094.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Predictability and strategic behavior under frontier regulation

Author

Listed:
  • Agrell, Per Joakim
  • Teusch, Jonas

Abstract

Frontier-based yardsticks, as applied in European energy network regulation, are not immune to strategic behavior. Under yardstick regulation, the regulator gauges the operator against a cost target set by the other firms in the sector. Many regulators have implemented frontier-based yardsticks where the cost function is defined by the most efficient firms (peers). This paper demonstrates that when it is possible to predict peers in advance, firms can manipulate the frontier to their advantage. We single out horizontal mergers as a plausible means to achieve such strategic objectives and develop a measure to identify strategic mergers ex ante. Using data from the electricity distribution sector in Norway that is subject to stable frontier-based regulation allows us to identify firm behavior that is consistent with our predictions. The paper contributes to the modern yardstick literature as existing evidence of strategic behavior in related regulatory settings is either based on anonymized questionnaire responses from regulatory authorities or relies on simulations using unidentified firms that are not actually exposed to such benchmarking in practice. The paper concludes by discussing policy implications.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Agrell, Per Joakim & Teusch, Jonas, 2020. "Predictability and strategic behavior under frontier regulation," LIDAM Reprints CORE 3094, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvrp:3094
    Note: In : Energy Policy, Vol. 137, p.111140 (2020)
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lars-Hendrik Röller & Johan Stennek & Frank Verboven, 2006. "Efficiency Gains from Mergers," Chapters, in: Fabienne IIzkovitz & Roderick Meiklejohn (ed.), European Merger Control, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Jamasb, Tooraj & Nillesen, Paul & Pollitt, Michael, 2004. "Strategic behaviour under regulatory benchmarking," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 825-843, September.
    3. Tangeras, Thomas P., 2002. "Collusion-proof yardstick competition," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 231-254, February.
    4. PER AGRELL & Peter Bogetoft & Jørgen Tind, 2005. "DEA and Dynamic Yardstick Competition in Scandinavian Electricity Distribution," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 173-201, May.
    5. Farrell, Joseph & Shapiro, Carl, 1990. "Horizontal Mergers: An Equilibrium Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(1), pages 107-126, March.
    6. Massimo Filippini, 1998. "Are Municipal Electricity Distribution Utilities Natural Monopolies?," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 157-174, June.
    7. Kwoka, John & Pollitt, Michael, 2010. "Do mergers improve efficiency? Evidence from restructuring the US electric power sector," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 645-656, November.
    8. Troels Kristensen & Peter Bogetoft & Kjeld Pedersen, 2010. "Potential gains from hospital mergers in Denmark," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 334-345, December.
    9. Per Agrell & Jørgen Tind, 2001. "A Dual Approach to Nonconvex Frontier Models," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 129-147, September.
    10. P. Nillesen & M. Pollitt, 2010. "Using Regulatory Benchmarking Techniques to Set Company Performance Targets: The Case of Us Electricity," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, Intersentia, vol. 11(1), pages 50-85, March.
    11. Francis Cronin & Stephen Motluk, 2007. "Flawed Competition Policies: Designing ‘Markets’ with Biased Costs and Efficiency Benchmarks," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 31(1), pages 43-67, August.
    12. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    13. Kuosmanen, Timo & Saastamoinen, Antti & Sipiläinen, Timo, 2013. "What is the best practice for benchmark regulation of electricity distribution? Comparison of DEA, SFA and StoNED methods," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 740-750.
    14. Stern, Jon & Holder, Stuart, 1999. "Regulatory governance: criteria for assessing the performance of regulatory systems: An application to infrastructure industries in the developing countries of Asia," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 33-50, March.
    15. Michael Zschille, 2015. "Consolidating the water industry: an analysis of the potential gains from horizontal integration in a conditional efficiency framework," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 97-114, August.
    16. Saastamoinen, Antti & Bjørndal, Endre & Bjørndal, Mette, 2017. "Specification of merger gains in the Norwegian electricity distribution industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 96-107.
    17. Zschille, Michael, 2015. "Consolidating the Water Industry: an Analysis of the Potential Gains from Horizontal Integration in a Conditional Efficiency Framework," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 44(1), pages 97-114.
    18. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    19. Emmanuelle Auriol & Jean‐Jacques Laffont, 1992. "Regulation By Duopoly," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(3), pages 507-533, September.
    20. Subal Kumbhakar & Roar Amundsveen & Hilde Kvile & Gudbrand Lien, 2015. "Scale economies, technical change and efficiency in Norwegian electricity distribution, 1998–2010," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 295-305, June.
    21. Dijkstra, Peter T. & Haan, Marco A. & Mulder, Machiel, 2017. "Industry structure and collusion with uniform yardstick competition: Theory and experiments," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-33.
    22. Necmiddin Bagdadioglu & Catherine Waddams Price & Thomas Weyman-Jones, 2007. "Measuring Potential Gains from Mergers among Electricity Distribution Companies in Turkey using a Non-Parametric Model," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 83-110.
    23. Andrei Shleifer, 1985. "A Theory of Yardstick Competition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 16(3), pages 319-327, Autumn.
    24. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    25. McAfee, R Preston & McMillan, John, 1995. "Organizational Diseconomies of Scale," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 399-426, Fall.
    26. Kuosmanen, Timo & Johnson, Andrew, 2017. "Modeling joint production of multiple outputs in StoNED: Directional distance function approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 262(2), pages 792-801.
    27. A. Yatchew, 2000. "Scale economies in electricity distribution: a semiparametric analysis," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 187-210.
    28. Peter Bogetoft & Dexiang Wang, 2005. "Estimating the Potential Gains from Mergers," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 145-171, May.
    29. Jesse D. Jenkins & Ignacio J. Pérez-Arriaga, 2017. "Improved Regulatory Approaches for the Remuneration of Electricity Distribution Utilities with High Penetrations of Distributed Energy Resources," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    30. Filippini, Massimo & Hrovatin, Nevenka & Zoric, Jelena, 2004. "Efficiency and regulation of the Slovenian electricity distribution companies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 335-344, February.
    31. Ivaldi, Marc & Verboven, Frank, 2005. "Quantifying the effects from horizontal mergers in European competition policy," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(9-10), pages 669-691, December.
    32. Cronin, Frank J. & Motluk, Stephen A., 2007. "How Effective Are M&As in Distribution? Evaluating the Government's Policy of Using Mergers and Amalgamations to Drive Efficiencies into Ontario's LDCs," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 60-68, April.
    33. R. D. Banker & A. Charnes & W. W. Cooper, 1984. "Some Models for Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1078-1092, September.
    34. San Román, Tomás Gómez & Momber, Ilan & Abbad, Michel Rivier & Sánchez Miralles, Álvaro, 2011. "Regulatory framework and business models for charging plug-in electric vehicles: Infrastructure, agents, and commercial relationships," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 6360-6375, October.
    35. Tirole, Jean, 1986. "Hierarchies and Bureaucracies: On the Role of Collusion in Organizations," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 181-214, Fall.
    36. Peter Bogetoft & Lars Otto, 2011. "Benchmarking with DEA, SFA, and R," International Series in Operations Research and Management Science, Springer, number 978-1-4419-7961-2, December.
    37. AGRELL, PerJ. & BOGETOFT, Peter & GRAMMELTVEDT, Thor Erik, 2015. "The efficiency of the regulation for horizontal mergers among electricity distribution operators in Norway," LIDAM Reprints CORE 2690, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    38. Aigner, Dennis & Lovell, C. A. Knox & Schmidt, Peter, 1977. "Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier production function models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 21-37, July.
    39. William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Kaoru Tone, 2007. "Data Envelopment Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-45283-8, November.
    40. Jamasb, Tooraj & Nillesen, Paul & Pollitt, Michael, 2003. "Gaming the Regulator: A Survey," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 16(10), pages 68-80, December.
    41. Montes, Germán Martínez & Prados Martín, Enrique & Ordóñez García, Javier, 2007. "The current situation of wind energy in Spain," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 467-481, April.
    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. Waidelich, Paul & Haug, Tomas & Wieshammer, Lorenz, 2022. "German efficiency gone wrong: Unintended incentives arising from the gas TSOs’ benchmarking," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    2. Henrique Faverzani Drago & Gilnei Luiz Moura & Luciana Santos Costa Vieira Silva & Claudimar Pereira Veiga & Fabíola Kaczam & Luciana Peixoto Santa Rita & Wesley Vieira Silva, 2023. "Reviewing the relationship between organizational performance, dynamic capabilities and strategic behavior," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-22, January.

    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. Saastamoinen, Antti & Bjørndal, Endre & Bjørndal, Mette, 2017. "Specification of merger gains in the Norwegian electricity distribution industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 96-107.
    2. TEUSCH, Jonas, 2016. "Merger Incentives Under Yardstick Competition : a Theoretical Model," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2016037, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    3. Jonas Teusch, 2019. "When Efficient Firms Flock Together: Merger Incentives Under Yardstick Competition," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 55(2), pages 237-255, September.
    4. Saastamoinen, Antti & Bjørndal, Endre & Bjørndal, Mette, 2016. "Specification of merger gains in the Norwegian electricity distribution industry," Discussion Papers 2016/7, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    5. Angeliki Flokou & Vassilis Aletras & Dimitris Niakas, 2017. "Decomposition of potential efficiency gains from hospital mergers in Greece," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 467-484, December.
    6. Yan He & Yung-ho Chiu & Bin Zhang, 2020. "Prevaluating Technical Efficiency Gains From Potential Mergers and Acquisitions in China’s Coal Industry," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(3), pages 21582440209, July.
    7. Mattsson, Pontus & Tidanå, Claes, 2019. "Potential efficiency effects of merging the Swedish district courts," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 58-68.
    8. Ying Li & Yung-Ho Chiu & Tai-Yu Lin & Tzu-Han Chang, 2020. "Pre-Evaluating the Technical Efficiency Gains from Potential Mergers and Acquisitions in the IC Design Industry," International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(02), pages 525-559, April.
    9. Waidelich, Paul & Haug, Tomas & Wieshammer, Lorenz, 2022. "German efficiency gone wrong: Unintended incentives arising from the gas TSOs’ benchmarking," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    10. Agrell, Per J. & Brea-Solís, Humberto, 2017. "Capturing heterogeneity in electricity distribution operations: A critical review of latent class modelling," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 361-372.
    11. Schober, Dominik & Weber, Christoph, 2015. "Refinancing under yardstick regulation with investment cycles: The case of long-lived electricity network assets," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-065, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    12. Kuosmanen, Timo & Saastamoinen, Antti & Sipiläinen, Timo, 2013. "What is the best practice for benchmark regulation of electricity distribution? Comparison of DEA, SFA and StoNED methods," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 740-750.
    13. Graziano Abrate & Clementina Bruno & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Anna Giolitti, 2017. "Efficiency in the Consolidation of the Italian Water Sector," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(8), pages 2447-2463, June.
    14. Agrell, Per J. & Niknazar, Pooria, 2014. "Structural and behavioral robustness in applied best-practice regulation," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 89-103.
    15. Dominik Schober, 2013. "Refinancing under Yardstick Regulation with Investment Cycles–The Case of Long-Lived Electricity Network Assets," EWL Working Papers 1321, University of Duisburg-Essen, Chair for Management Science and Energy Economics, revised Jun 2013.
    16. Julia Schaefer & Marcel Clermont, 2018. "Stochastic non-smooth envelopment of data for multi-dimensional output," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 139-154, December.
    17. Jianhui Xie & Xiaoxuan Zhu & Liang Liang, 2020. "A multiplicative method for estimating the potential gains from two-stage production system mergers," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 288(1), pages 475-493, May.
    18. Biresh K. Sahoo & Kaoru Tone, 2022. "Evaluating the potential efficiency gains from optimal industry configuration: A case of life insurance industry of India," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3996-4009, December.
    19. Ørjan Mydland, 2020. "Lost economies of scope and potential merger gains in the Norwegian electricity industry," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(6), pages 3077-3100, June.
    20. Bai, Xue-jie & Zeng, Jin & Chiu, Yung-Ho, 2019. "Pre-evaluating efficiency gains from potential mergers and acquisitions based on the resampling DEA approach: Evidence from China's railway sector," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 46-56.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
    • L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies

    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:cor:louvrp:3094. 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: Alain GILLIS (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/coreebe.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.