Contrasting Developments in UK Energy Regulation: Retail Policy and Consumer Engagement

This article explores the role of regulation as a supporting institution for an energy market. Two aspects are examined: first, the role of regulation in promoting a competitive market for the retail supply of energy, and second, the role of regulation in providing access to the transmission and distribution networks, assumed to be monopolies, that provide services for the retail suppliers. UK regulation promoted retail energy competition until 2008, but in that year changed direction, and since then has been restricting retail competition. In contrast, UK regulation since 2008 has encouraged more customer engagement in the network part of the energy sector. This offers the prospect, at least, of the emergence of a form of competition and choice in the process of setting price controls.     

British Bus Deregulation: Competition and Demand Coordination

Our framework formally explains some of the recent curious events surrounding deregulation of the British local bus industry. The winner-takes-all nature of this market induces competitive providers to engage in predatory or preemptive behavior in scheduling and pricing. Unlike previous works, we explicitly model consumers' responses to firms' schedule announcements. We show that the market is unstable if demand is uncoordinated, but stable otherwise. Our results highlight the important role played by demand-coordinating mechanisms in local bus markets and our results suggest that pure-strategy Nash equilibria exist in models à-la-Hotelling (1929) whenever demand is effectively coordinated.     

从放松规制到规制重构:国有垄断行业改革的新思考

随着国有垄断行业改革的提速,放松规制和引入竞争仍在持续,但整体布局、重构规制亟待完善。本文通过对电力、电信、石油、烟草等典型行业改革模式比较分析后提出:垄断行业改革的基本取向应从放松规制走向规制重构;建立产业协调、竞争促进和市场监管体系;促进中央与地方的产业协调发展;统筹提升国有经济的活力、影响力、控制力和抗风险能力。     

城市公用事业的放松管制与管制改革

滥觞于竞争性产业的中国经济体制改革 ,一直以实现竞争性产业的政企分离、企业间相互竞争并建立与之相适应的制度框架为重点 ,与此形成鲜明对照的是具有垄断结构的城市公用事业的改革则严重滞后 ,原有体制下的许多僵化和扭曲现象继续存在 ,经营绩效距消费者和所有者的要求相去甚远。经济体制改革在竞争性产业和垄断性产业的不平衡正在严重地阻碍中国经济的市场化进程 ,城市公用事业的放松管制、管制改革及竞争性结构的形成已经成为中国经济体制进一步改革不可回避的焦点问题。     

零售店的竞争导向定价分析

影响顾客择店的主要因素是价格扣购物成本。零售店如何运用竞争导向定价?在主要考虑消费者到该零售店的距离和零售店的销售面积这两个因素的情况下,本文中我们通过运用豪泰林价格竞争模型和零售引力模型,分析在已知竞争对手价格和购物成本的情况下,该零售店的最佳价格,以及两零售店经过多次博弈后达到纳什均衡时各自的价格。     

Trading-up on unmet expectations? Evaluating consumers’ expectations in online premium grocery shopping logistics

Geography and retail store locations are inherently bound together; this study links food retail changes to systemic logistics changes in an emerging market. The later include raising income and education, access to a wide range of technologies, traffic and transport difficulties, lagging retail provision, changing family structure and roles, as well as changing food culture and taste. The study incorporates demand for premium products defined by Kapferer and Bastien [2009b. The Luxury Strategy. London: Kogan Page] as comprising a broad variety of higher quality and unique or distinctive products and brands including in grocery organic ranges, healthy options, allergy free selections, and international and gourmet/specialty products through an online grocery model (n?=?356) that integrates a novel view of home delivery in Istanbul. More importantly from a logistic perspective our model incorporates any products from any online vendors broadening the range beyond listed items found in any traditional online supermarkets. Data collected via phone survey and analysed via structural equation modelling suggest that the offer of online premium products significantly affects consumers’ delivery logistics expectations. We discuss logistics operations and business management implications, identifying the emerging geography of logistic models which respond to consumers’ unmet expectations using multiple sourcing and consolidation points.     

Small,Local and Cheap? Walkable and Car-oriented Retail in Competition

Abstract

I develop a model of competition between walkable shops, and other shops whose customers drive (car-oriented shops). Walkable shops operate in monopolistic competition within a local area, or neighbourhood. A small cost advantage for car-oriented shops can turn into a larger price advantage. High prices in walkable shops effect a regressive transfer from poorer to richer consumers, since the poorer are less likely to have cars. Internalizing environmental and social costs of urban automobile use could reduce prices and increase capacity utilization in walkable shops in more densely populated local areas. Many common combinations of planning and pricing tools fail to internalize important costs, and may actually subsidize driving to shop, but a combination of planning and the pricing (through taxation) of retail parking could effectively internalize the relevant costs.     

我国物流业现状分析与对策研究

随着全球经济一体化的发展，企业间单是的竞争已不产品性能和质量的竞争，也包含物流能力的竞争。通过对我国物流业发展水平进行系统分析，明确制约我国物流业发展的主要因素，从参与国际竞争的需要，提出了我国物流业发展的对策建议。     

Policy changes in the Swiss electricity market: Analysis of likely market responses

The Swiss electricity market is still a public monopoly. Switzerland do not intend to be part of the single European electricity market, but given its strategic geographical position—Switzerland is in the middle of the core area of the European Union, Swiss power producers maintain electricity exchanges (imports and exports) with neighbouring countries. These exchanges represent an important source of revenue for Swiss utilities.

Switzerland is currently facing a period of fundamental policy changes. Even though the market has not been legally liberalised, emergent liberalisation is taking place. Furthermore, nuclear dismantling has been debated since the early 1980s. People have not yet accepted the dismantling proposition, so there is actually no law banning the construction of new nuclear plants, but given the current attitude of the population and the politicians any new nuclear investments are most unlikely.

The aim of this paper is to illustrate likely market responses to different policy changes in the Swiss electricity market, such as nuclear phase-out and changes in international exchanges policies that may arise as a consequence of the emergent liberalisation that is taking place in this market.

This article presents a conceptualisation model that helps understanding the logic of the dynamic behaviour of the Swiss electricity market, and illustrates the rationale of politicians and decision makers involved in the market planning process, as well as the possible consequences of the implementation of different policies. The purpose is not to forecast or quantify market response, but to identify and understand possible scenarios for market behaviour.     

华东电力市场市场力的系统分析与监管措施

针对华东电力市场的实际情况,分析了市场力存在的原因及其作用和影响;总结了当前市场力的度量评价指标;给出监管市场力的几种措施,对正在进行试运行的华东电力市场具有一定的参考价值。