An Empirical Analysis of the Potential for Market Power in California's Electricity Industry

Using historical cost data, we simulate the California electricity market after deregulation as a static Cournot market with a competitive fringe. Our model indicates that, under the pre-deregulation structure of generation ownership, there is potential for significant market power in high demand hours, particularly in the fall and early winter months when hydroelectric output is at its lowest level relative to demand. The results also show that two of the most important factors in determining the extent and severity of market power are the level of available hydroelectric production and the elasticity of demand.     

欧盟开放电力市场通览

1996年12月，英国、法国、德国、奥地利、比利时、丹麦、芬兰、希腊、爱尔兰、意大利、卢森堡、荷兰、葡萄牙、西班牙、瑞典等欧盟15个成员国达成了建立内部统一电力市场的协议，随后欧盟委员会颁布了96/92/EC指令。按照该指令的要求，欧盟成员国必须在1999年2月将电网对外开放，允许第三方进入，并将本国电力市场的25%对外开放，到2006年底电力市场的开放度要达到1/3。虽然欧盟各成员国开放电力市场有先有后，进程不一，但都能积极响应。英国、北欧的挪威、芬兰、瑞典和西欧的西班牙等国家走在前面。实际执行的结果，到1999年2月整个欧盟…     

Direct Labor Market Effects of Unemployment Insurance

It has been established that relatively high income families receive a disproportionately large share of UI benefits. Little information on the distribution of costs by income class is available, but it is quite possible that the upper income groups may also bear a disproportionately large share of the costs. More empirical research is needed before the redistributive effects of UI can be known with any degree of confidence. There is little argument about the desirability on income mainlenance grounds of extending Unemployment insurance benefits in a recessionary period, all other things being equal. U1 is quite efficient as an income maintenance tool for covered workers. With respect to the unemployment problem, though, it is feared by some that the program goes too far in maintaining the incomes of covered workers, and as a result any extension of UI benefits will aggravate the unemployment problem. The evidence presented here suggests that fears of a major increase in unemployment as a result of such changes are largely unwarranted. However, extended UI benefits would appear to have some small, nontrivial adverse impact on unemployment. Finally, it seems that UI's income distributional impact has been portrayed unjustly as pro-rich. It may be that income is transferred through the UI system from the relatively well-to-do to the relatively poor. There is no scientific way of bringing these considerations to bear in deciding whether or not to restructure the unemployment insurance system. This question can be answered only by invoking fundamental value judgments to decide how sociely would be better off, and I would not presume here to offer my own. This paper will have served its purpose if it has provided the basis for a more informed decision.     

研发与市场结构:基于成本视角的分析

本文从成本入手，探讨了研发与市场结构的关系。通过对平均成本、固定成本及知识特性的综合分析，认为由于技术复杂度的不断提高及研发带来的规模经济，在多数产业研发会导致市场集中度逐渐提高。通过对研发沉没成本的分析表明，在专利保护与许可证制度下，当研发导致的沉没成本比较小时，厂商数量较多的竞争性市场的福利好于寡占或垄断市场，因为其研发速度更快；反之，寡占或垄断市场的福利更好，因为研发的沉没成本得到了节约。在理论分析的基础上，本文就如何通过优化市场结构，提升我国企业研发能力，应对经济全球化的挑战，提出了三点对策。     

2003年上半年国际石油市场回顾与展望

2003年上半年油价走势主要分为三个阶段：1月至3月上旬原油价格屡创新高,3月下旬原油价格大幅下挫;5月初至6月底原油价格总体处于上扬走势,油价总体水平大大高于去年同期。美伊关系日趋紧张并最终导致战争爆发。是促使1～3月油价攀升的主要因素。原油和油品库存较代,及委内瑞拉等产油国政局不稳也是造成油价波动的重要因素,此外,北美经济的低速增长造成全球经济增长缓慢;“非典”疫情爆发,造成全球航空燃料油需求较去年同期大幅下降,欧佩克及时调整产量政策,防止了油价大幅下跃,战后伊拉克的局势与产量恢复情况及欧佩克的产量政策等是2003年下半年影响石油市场的关键因素,预计今年三四季度国际原油价格将围绕25美元/桶波动,全年平均价格为24～26美元/桶。     

Older Married Workers and Nonstandard Jobs: The Effects of Health and Health Insurance

We examine the effects of health and health insurance coverage on older married workers' decisions to work in temporary, contract, part-time, self-employment, and regular full-time jobs. We model the behavior of older married workers as interdependent, showing that one spouse's health and insurance status affects the employment of the other. In general, we find that men and women are less likely to be employed in regular full-time jobs when they are in fair or poor health and are more likely to be in regular full-time employment when their spouses are in poor health.     

从强制保险探讨交通事故救助模式

强制保险是国家对特定对象以法令形式规定其必须参加的保险,机动车交通事故责任强制保险作为强制险的一种．是社会公益性很强的险种,对于保障公民合法权益、维护社会稳定具有重要意义。本文结合国外交强险的立法经验和实践,对我国实行该制度的理论和实践进行了探讨。对制度的功能定位和存在的问题进行了研究,以期为其进一步完善提供参考。     

近看远观:中国燃料油市场何去何从?

燃料油是目前国内市场化程度最高的石油产品之一,近年来我国燃料油的年均表现消费量已达到3500万吨左右,但由于国产燃料油有限,燃料油消费量的一半以上不得不依靠进口。2002年,受益于国际油价的劲挺,中国国内燃料油价格也健步上升,由于国内燃料油市场与国际市场具有紧密的相关性,在2003年国际油价走低趋势的影响下,我国燃料油市场也将转入熊市,未来一两年内,预计我国燃料油市场除总体需求稳中略降外,进口燃料油的需求有望保持强劲,从长期看,受替代能源的影响,燃料油市场总需求将呈下降趋势,预计2003-2004年间每年的燃料油表观消费量大约在3400万-3450万吨之间。2005年以后由于将受到“西电东送”,“西气东输”,广东液化天然气（LNG）项目,奥里乳化油项目,“煤代油”工程,海洋重质原油产量增加等因素的影响,我国燃料油的需求还将大幅度减少,燃料油表观消费量很可能将低于3000万吨。     

Hospitals: The Market for Health Care Facilities

Health care facilities include hospitals and nursing homes. Demand for beds and occupancy depends on income, prices and insurer restrictions. The supply of beds is limited by regulatory certificates of need. The implied equilibrium vacancy leads to a trade-off with rate increases. Rate increases establish an asset price for a hospital bed. If prices of health care rise faster than income and nonhealth prices, patients demand less bed availability and occupancy. Rising vacancy and rising prices occur, consistent with the empirical observations for U.S. health care facilities. For 1980–2001, the equilibrium vacancy rate for U.S. hospitals is between 27% and 36% depending on capacity adjustments, bed availability and price expectations. Equilibrium vacancy is near the actual rate after 2000, but that rate is 11 percentage points higher than in the early 1980s when the number of beds was nearly one-third higher. Usually rent regulation leads to excess demand. But in a general equilibrium model with income, relative prices, expectations, supply and capital markets, price regulation can coexist with excess supply.     

Sharing Risks of Labour Market Transitions: Towards a System of Employment Insurance

The increasing polarization of the labour market is closely related to the spread of non‐standard employment relationships that largely results from poor risk management of critical transitions over the life course. The question, therefore, arises whether labour market regulation, in particular unemployment insurance, is still properly designed for the new world of work. This article argues for an extension of unemployment insurance towards a system of employment insurance by summarizing the concept of transitional labour markets, indicating the risks that challenge current and future labour markets, laying the theoretical groundwork, and discussing the main features of an employment insurance system.     

Multimarket Contact in Health Insurance: Evidence from Medicare Advantage*

Many industries consist of large firms that compete in multiple geographic markets. Such overlap, defined as multimarket contact (MMC), may facilitate tacit collusion and soften competition. We examine the effects of MMC on health insurance prices and quality using comprehensive data on the Medicare Advantage (MA) market from 2008 through 2015. Our identification strategy exploits two plausibly exogenous changes to MMC: (1) out-of-market mergers; and (2) policy-driven changes in the benchmark rates of other markets. Our results consistently support the mutual forbearance hypothesis, where we find that prices are significantly higher and high-quality plans less pervasive as MMC increases.     

博弈论视角:中国商品期货市场价格风险的形成

期货市场历来就蕴涵着各种各样的风险,尤以价格风险为甚。正确认识和理解期货市场价格风险形成的根源,并采取有效的措施加以防范,成为整个期货市场风险控制的中心和重点。本文借鉴博弈论的理论知识,深入阐明了与期货价格风险形成密切相关的期货市场博弈主体之间的博弈行为。通过博弈主体之间的博弈分析,进一步揭示了期货市场价格风险形成的机制,为更加深入认识期货市场的价格风险和采取有效的风险控制措施提供帮助。     

2003年国内石油市场回顾与2004年展望

2003年,受经济快速增长,国际油价高位运行以及天气异常等因素的影响,中国原油加工量和绝大部分油品产量快速增长;石油净进口量大幅增加;原油、大部分油品及石油表观消费量也大幅增长;部分油品需求出现较大幅度波动：地区市场特征发生变化,广东地区不再引领国内石油市场走势：石油价格高位运行：两大石油集团对市场的控制能力大大提高。展望2004年,中国石油需求仍将快速增长柴油需求增长率可能与2003年基本持平,同比增长6％左右;汽油需求增长率可能略高于2003年、估计增长率在4％～5％：其他大部分油品需求也将快速增长,石油需求总增长率将达65％左右,巨大的石油需求将使中国的炼油能力面临巨大压力。     

中国石油市场形势回顾与2003年展望

2002年1－10月份中国石油市场原油从应充足；在总量调控下，汽油，柴油，煤油，燃料油供应略小于需求，库存下降；受国内外双重影响，，国内成品油市场价格波动呈现出规律性，汽柴油零售中准呈上升趋势，市场流通秩序有所好转。展望2003年，虽然经济继续快速增长将使石油需求快速增长，但经济质量的提高将使石油需求同比增长率略有下降，经济结构的变化将使油品需求结构发生变化。2003年中国原油供应将保持稳定和充足。原油加工量将达到2．2亿－2．3亿吨，汽油，柴油，燃料油，石脑油，煤油，LPG的产量比2002年均会有一定幅度增长。预计汽柴油年平均价格将与2002年水平接近，市场运行相对平稳。国家将进一步调控国内石油市场，国内石油市场机制将进一步完善。中国成品油流通领域仍存在四个不同层次的问题。其中企业层面问题的解决可望在国家政策取向和石油公司实际需要等因素的是影响下取得较大的进展。     

养老保险中政府行为与市场行为的均衡分析

养老保险具有准公共物品的性质,这就决定政府在供给方面的主导地位.在养老保险市场中存在着外部性和信息不对称等市场失灵现象,单纯靠市场机制是解决不了的,只有通过政府的干预来进行协调.但在干预的过程中,作为"经济人"角色的政府,也存在着政府失灵现象.如何在养老保险市场中定位政府的角色,以使政府更好的发挥主导作用,本文认为政府在养老保险领域的行为边界的确定,取决于政府与市场在养老资源配置效率的比较,只有当政府组织一项交易的成本等于通过市场机制进行这项交易的成本时,两者之间的关系才能达到均衡.     

美国贸易法中“市场扰乱”的认定标准研究

美国1974贸易法421条的“市场扰乱”标准是根据WTO的有关规定而制定,但该标准带有模糊性、不公平性,在实务案件中更是表露无遗。我国政府和企业均应采取措施应对之。