IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eco/journ2/2020-06-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Institutional Environment and the Strategies of the Firms of the Brazilian Electricity Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Andre Luis da Silva Leite

    (Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil)

  • Nei Antonio Nunes

    (Southern University of Santa Catarina, Brazil)

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to analyze how the evolution of the institutional environment of the Brazilian Electricity Industry (BEI) has influenced the strategies of the firms. The main characteristics of the BEI are: almost 90% the electricity is generated from hydroelectric plants; central coordination is required to minimize costs, optimize the operation of the system and mitigate risks; hybrid governance structure, where private firms compete with public owned firms; specific assets; and a complex and uncertain business environment. Since 1996, the BEI has faced two distinct reforms. The first, more market oriented, was characterized by the privatization of 80% of distribution firms and 20% of generation assets. But in 2001 Brazil faced its worse electricity crisis in history, so the new government in 2003 proposed a new model for the BEI. This model re-established the role of the government as a planner and tried to create a more competitive market through auctions. We analyze the long term contracts to buy energy and new investments in generation in the BEI. We show that in Brazil there were risks of gaming and it is difficult to allocate the residual rights perfectly and this has an influence in the fact that firms are buying electricity from firms of the same economic group. We conclude that the industry characteristics, the evolution of its governance structure and the transition between institutional models lead to an elevated potential for vertical integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Andre Luis da Silva Leite & Nei Antonio Nunes, 2020. "Institutional Environment and the Strategies of the Firms of the Brazilian Electricity Industry," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(6), pages 53-58.
  • Handle: RePEc:eco:journ2:2020-06-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijeep/article/download/9907/5418
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijeep/article/view/9907/5418
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1990. "Property Rights and the Nature of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1119-1158, December.
    2. Williamson, Oliver E, 1979. "Transaction-Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractural Relations," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(2), pages 233-261, October.
    3. Joskow, Paul L, 1991. "The Role of Transaction Cost Economics in Antitrust and Public Utility Regulatory Policies," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(0), pages 53-83, Special I.
    4. Joskow, Paul L, 1988. "Asset Specificity and the Structure of Vertical Relationships: Empirical Evidence," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(1), pages 95-117, Spring.
    5. Oliver E. Williamson, 2005. "The Economics of Governance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Oliver Hart, 2003. "Incomplete Contracts and Public Ownership: Remarks, and an Application to Public-Private Partnerships," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(486), pages 69-76, March.
    7. Sidak,J. Gregory & Spulber,Daniel F., 1998. "Deregulatory Takings and the Regulatory Contract," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521658713, September.
    8. Silva, Neilton Fidelis da & Rosa, Luiz Pinguelli & Freitas, Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos & Pereira, Marcio Giannini, 2013. "Wind energy in Brazil: From the power sector's expansion crisis model to the favorable environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 686-697.
    9. Vahl, Fabrício Peter & Rüther, Ricardo & Casarotto Filho, Nelson, 2013. "The influence of distributed generation penetration levels on energy markets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 226-235.
    10. Rego, Erik Eduardo & Parente, Virginia, 2013. "Brazilian experience in electricity auctions: Comparing outcomes from new and old energy auctions as well as the application of the hybrid Anglo-Dutch design," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 511-520.
    11. Bengt Holmstrom & John Roberts, 1998. "The Boundaries of the Firm Revisited," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 73-94, Fall.
    12. Delmas, Magali & Tokat, Yesim, 2003. "Deregulation Process, Governance Structures and Efficiency: The U.S. Electric Utility Sector," Research Papers 1790, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    13. 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.
    14. Ferreira, Pedro Guilherme Costa & Oliveira, Fernando Luiz Cyrino & Souza, Reinaldo Castro, 2015. "The stochastic effects on the Brazilian Electrical Sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 328-335.
    15. Williamson, Oliver E, 1971. "The Vertical Integration of Production: Market Failure Considerations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(2), pages 112-123, May.
    16. Signorini, Guilherme & Ross, R. Brent & Peterson, H. Christopher, 2015. "Historical analysis of institutions and organizations: the case of the Brazilian electricity sector," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 191-212, March.
    17. Williamson, Oliver, 2009. "The Theory of the Firm as Governance Structure: From Choice to Contract," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 6, pages 111-134, December.
    18. Hart, Oliver, 1995. "Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198288817.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Gibbons, Robert, 2005. "Four forma(lizable) theories of the firm?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 200-245, October.
    2. Schmitz, Patrick W., 2023. "The proper scope of government reconsidered: Asymmetric information and incentive contracts," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    3. Maloney, Michael T., 2017. "Alchian remembrances," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 561-582.
    4. Francine Lafontaine & Margaret Slade, 2007. "Vertical Integration and Firm Boundaries: The Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(3), pages 629-685, September.
    5. Morita, Hodaka & Servátka, Maroš, 2013. "Group identity and relation-specific investment: An experimental investigation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 95-109.
    6. Amirah El-Haddad, 2023. "Political Patronage and Economic Opportunity: Vertical Integration in Egyptian Textiles and Clothing," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(5), pages 1224-1257, October.
    7. Peter G. Klein & Michael E. Sykuta, 2010. "Editors’ Introduction," Chapters, in: Peter G. Klein & Michael E. Sykuta (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Transaction Cost Economics, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Patrick W. Schmitz, 2006. "Information Gathering, Transaction Costs, and the Property Rights Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 422-434, March.
    9. Oliver Gürtler, 2010. "Haggling for Rents, Relational Contracts, and the Theory of the Firm," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 62(4), pages 359-377, October.
    10. Gonzalez-Diaz, Manuel & Arrunada, Benito & Fernandez, Alberto, 2000. "Causes of subcontracting: evidence from panel data on construction firms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 167-187, June.
    11. Manuel González & Benito Arruñada & Alberto Fernández, 1997. "La decisión de subcontratar: el caso de las empresas constructoras," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 21(3), pages 501-521, September.
    12. Martin Strieborny & Madina Kukenova, 2016. "Investment in Relationship-Specific Assets: Does Finance Matter?," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 20(4), pages 1487-1515.
    13. Gabriel Jobidon & Pierre Lemieux & Robert Beauregard, 2019. "Comparison of Quebec’s Project Delivery Methods: Relational Contract Law and Differences in Contractual Language," Laws, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-75, April.
    14. Schmitz, Patrick W., 2021. "Optimal ownership of public goods under asymmetric information," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    15. Berde, Éva, 2013. "A fundamentális transzformáció és a referenciapont szerepe a hiányos szerződések elméletében [The role of basic transformation and reference point in the theory of incomplete contracts]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(7), pages 865-885.
    16. Ursino Giovanni, 2015. "Supply Chain Control: A Theory of Vertical Integration," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 15(4), pages 1831-1866, October.
    17. Woodruff, Christopher, 2002. "Non-contractible investments and vertical integration in the Mexican footwear industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(8), pages 1197-1224, October.
    18. Oliver E. Williamson, 2005. "The Economics of Governance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 1-18, May.
    19. Müller, Daniel & Schmitz, Patrick W., 2016. "Transaction costs and the property rights approach to the theory of the firm," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 92-107.
    20. Miguel Espinosa, 2021. "Labor Boundaries and Skills: The Case of Lobbyists," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(3), pages 1586-1607, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Brazilian Electricity Industry Transaction costs economics Vertical integration;

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities

    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:eco:journ2:2020-06-7. 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: Ilhan Ozturk (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.econjournals.com .

    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.