Competition in the electricity industry in England and Wales

When the electricity industry was privatized, the governmentmade structural changes to encourage competition in generationand in supply to consumers. The conventional power stationswere only divided between two companies, however, and we showthat duopolistic competition in an unregulated spot market mightimply undesirably high prices. Most sales are hedged in thecontract market, which makes the spot market more competitive,and a realistic threat of entry could also force generatorsto keep their prices down. In the event, a large amount of entrytook place, supported by the regional electricity companies'franchise monopoly over smaller consumers. That monopoly endsin 1998, so that further entry might become very difficult,while competition between firms already in the generation marketis still limited. Vertical integration between the major generatorsand regional electricity companies might make entry even harder,and should be blocked until the industry is more competitive.     

Tobacco retail licences and state formation in early modern England and Wales

This article addresses one under‐studied aspect of Charles I's finances during his Personal Rule: the licensing of tobacco retailers. While it was ultimately a failed project, the tobacco retail licence project was fiscally successful before the transformative events of the 1640s triggered its demise. The project enabled tobacco retail licensees to establish commercial outlets for the marketing of tobacco throughout England and Wales, and cooperation with pre‐existing officeholders contributed to the apprehension of unlicensed retailers. Ultimately, the geographic breadth of tobacco licences translated into much‐needed royal revenue which, when added to other projects and patents, contributed to the king's financial survival. The evidence presented here suggests that we may want to rethink some of our assumptions for how the process of state formation worked and that earlier seventeenth‐century ‘prototypes’ of taxation were more fiscally successful than previously recognized.     

The production and consumption of bar iron in early modern England and Wales

Errata . The Economic History Review 59: 1, 64
The production and consumption of bar iron in early modern England and Wales. An estimate made of the bar iron production in England shows two periods when production grew rapidly, 1540-1620 and 1785-1810. Both of these were related to the adoption of new technology-the finery forge in the first case, and potting and stamping and then puddling in the second. Imports of iron from Spain declined sharply after 1540, but those from Sweden became significant from the mid-seventeenth century, and those from Russia after 1730. Consumption grew rapidly in the late sixteenth century, and again during the eighteenth. Hence, the industrial revolution was the culmination of a long period of growth.     

Economic Aspects of Mortality Risk Securitization

The mortality risk bond is another financial innovation after catastrophe risk bond. The purpose of this paper is that： firstly, introduce the driver of demand and development of morality risk bond, and then analyze the structure of the bond; secondly, give the pricing model under the certain hypothesis, and relative mortality rate model; lastly, analyze the feasibility that develops mortality risk bond in China.     

Participation in further education in England and Wales: an analysis of post-war trends

The paper examines the time-series evidence relating to participationrates in further education in England and Wales and, using cointegrationanalysis, identifies a long-run statistical relationship inthe data consistent with an augmented human-capital model. Therecent rapid growth of participation is largely attributableto the improvements in GCSE attainment, coupled with the expansionof higher education, of the last decade. Fluctuations in labourdemand play a significant role in determining the movementsof participation rates over time, and the substantial rise inyouth unemployment of the early 1990s contributed to the growthin participation at this time.     

Growing Old in England: Economic and Social Issues

This paper examines the economic and social impact of changes in the duration of working life for the 80 per cent of older adults living in urban England. While some people are experiencing extended retirement because of moving out of paid work in their 50s, a growing minority of those beyond the state retirement age continue in paid employment. This paper highlights the considerable challenges for urban policy makers in addressing the economic and social inclusion of all older adults.