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Privatisation in the EU Energy Sector: The Never-Ending Story

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  • Carlo Stagnaro

Abstract

Following the wave of privatisation that started in Britain's energy sectors in the early 1980s, much progress has been made but the results still fall short of the potential benefits. In this paper both the theoretical arguments and the existing empirical evidence on privatisation in the energy sector are examined, with particular reference to European experience. The paper also presents some additional empirical analysis on the effect of privatisation on competition in the electricity market. Although not fully satisfactory, the analysis seems to be consistent with theoretical arguments. In particular, ‘mostly privatised’ industries tend to be associated with incumbents having lower market shares.

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  • Carlo Stagnaro, 2014. "Privatisation in the EU Energy Sector: The Never-Ending Story," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 238-253, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:34:y:2014:i:2:p:238-253
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecaf.12081
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    Cited by:

    1. Opolska, Iweta, 2017. "The efficacy of liberalization and privatization in introducing competition into European natural gas markets," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 12-21.

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