IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/indorg/v37y2014icp13-22.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Motivating regulated suppliers to assess alternative technologies, protocols, and capital structures

Author

Listed:
  • Jamison, Mark
  • Mandy, David M.
  • Sappington, David E.M.

Abstract

Regulated firms can be tempted to adopt cost-saving technologies, operating procedures, or capital structures without fully assessing the associated risks. We demonstrate how a regulator can costlessly preclude such behavior if she can impose substantial penalties on the firm in the event of poor realized performance. When these penalties are more limited, the regulated firm secures rent from its privileged ability to assess the riskiness of potential technologies. If these penalties are sufficiently limited, the regulator optimally affords the firm no choice among technologies. Consequently, the regulated firm prefers moderate penalties to very limited penalties.

Suggested Citation

  • Jamison, Mark & Mandy, David M. & Sappington, David E.M., 2014. "Motivating regulated suppliers to assess alternative technologies, protocols, and capital structures," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 13-22.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:37:y:2014:i:c:p:13-22
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2014.07.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167718714000617
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2014.07.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dasgupta, Sudipto & Nanda, Vikram, 1993. "Bargaining and brinkmanship : Capital structure choice by regulated firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 475-497.
    2. Szalay, Dezsö, 2009. "Contracts with endogenous information," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 586-625, March.
    3. Tracy R. Lewis & David E.M. Sappington, 1995. "Optimal Capital Structure in Agency Relationships," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 26(3), pages 343-361, Autumn.
    4. Cremer, Jacques & Khalil, Fahad & Rochet, Jean-Charles, 1998. "Contracts and Productive Information Gathering," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 174-193, November.
    5. Taggart, Robert A, Jr, 1985. "Effects of Regulation on Utility Financing: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 257-276, March.
    6. János Kornai, 2014. "The soft budget constraint," Acta Oeconomica, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 64(supplemen), pages 25-79, November.
    7. Stephen A. Ross, 1977. "The Determination of Financial Structure: The Incentive-Signalling Approach," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 8(1), pages 23-40, Spring.
    8. Carlo Cambini & Laura Rondi, 2012. "Capital structure and investment in regulated network utilities: evidence from EU telecoms," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 21(1), pages 31-71, February.
    9. J. Kornai & E. Maskin & G. Roland, 2004. "Understanding the Soft Budget Constraint," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 11.
    10. Bernardo Bortolotti & Carlo Cambini & Laura Rondi & Yossi Spiegel, 2011. "Capital Structure and Regulation: Do Ownership and Regulatory Independence Matter?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 517-564, June.
    11. Cowan, Simon, 2004. "Optimal risk allocation for regulated monopolies and consumers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-2), pages 285-303, January.
    12. Yossef Spiegel & Daniel F. Spulber, 1997. "Capital Structure with Countervailing Incentives," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 28(1), pages 1-24, Spring.
    13. Yossef Spiegel & Daniel F. Spulber, 1994. "The Capital Structure of a Regulated Firm," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(3), pages 424-440, Autumn.
    14. Gianni De Fraja & Clive Stones, 2004. "Risk and Capital Structure in the Regulated Firm," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 69-84, July.
    15. Lewis, Tracy R & Sappington, David E M, 1997. "Information Management in Incentive Problems," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(4), pages 796-821, August.
    16. Yaron Yehezkel, 2014. "Motivating a Supplier to Test Product Quality," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 309-345, June.
    17. Iossa, Elisabetta & Stroffolini, Francesca, 2005. "Price cap regulation, revenue sharing and information acquisition," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 217-230, March.
    18. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. "The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March.
    19. Spiegel, Yossef, 1994. "The Capital Structure and Investment of Regulated Firms under Alternative Regulatory Regimes," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 297-319, September.
    20. Iossa, Elisabetta & Stroffolini, Francesca, 2002. "Price cap regulation and information acquisition," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(7), pages 1013-1036, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carlo Cambini & Yossi Spiegel, 2016. "Investment and Capital Structure of Partially Private Regulated Firms," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 487-515, April.
    2. Antonio Estache & Tomas Serebrisky & Liam Wren-Lewis, 2015. "Financing infrastructure in developing countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 31(3-4), pages 279-304.

    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. Spiegel, Yossi & Cambini, Carlo, 2011. "Investment and capital structure of partially private regulated firms," CEPR Discussion Papers 8508, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Carlo Cambini & Yossi Spiegel, 2016. "Investment and Capital Structure of Partially Private Regulated Firms," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 487-515, April.
    3. Fay, Marianne & Martimort, David & Straub, Stéphane, 2021. "Funding and financing infrastructure: The joint-use of public and private finance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    4. Clive Stones, 2007. "Risk Sharing, the Cost of Equity and the Optimal Capital Structure of the Regulated Firm," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 30(2), pages 139-159, March.
    5. Majumdar, Sumit K., 2016. "Debt and communications technology diffusion: Retrospective evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 458-474.
    6. Armstrong, Mark & Sappington, David E.M., 2007. "Recent Developments in the Theory of Regulation," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 27, pages 1557-1700, Elsevier.
    7. Clive J Stones, "undated". "Risk Sharing, the Cost of Equity and the Optimal Capital Structure of the Regulated Firm," Discussion Papers 05/31, Department of Economics, University of York.
    8. Sumit K. Majumdar & Rabih Moussawi & Ulku Yaylacicegi, 2018. "Capital Structure and Mergers: Retrospective Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 449-472, December.
    9. Bernardo Bortolotti & Carlo Cambini & Laura Rondi & Yossi Spiegel, 2011. "Capital Structure and Regulation: Do Ownership and Regulatory Independence Matter?," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 517-564, June.
    10. Spiegel, Yossef, 1997. "The choice of technology and capital structure under rate regulation," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 191-216, April.
    11. Kashi, Bahman, 2015. "Risk management and the stated investment costs by independent power producers," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 660-668.
    12. Sanyal, Paroma & Bulan, Laarni T., 2011. "Regulatory risk, market uncertainties, and firm financing choices: Evidence from U.S. Electricity Market Restructuring," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 248-268, June.
    13. Shin, Dongsoo & Yun, Sungho, 2023. "Information acquisition and countervailing incentives," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    14. Salvador Bertomeu, 2019. "On the effects of the financialization of private utilities: lessons from the UK water sector," Working Papers ECARES 2019-29, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Terstiege, Stefan, 2013. "Precontractual Investigation and Sequential Screening," Discussion Paper Series of SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems 429, Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich.
    16. Arve, Malin, 2014. "Procurement and predation: Dynamic sourcing from financially constrained suppliers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 157-168.
    17. Olivier Debande, 1997. "Le rôle du secteur privé dans le financement des infrastructures : une mise en perspective historique," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 48(2), pages 197-230.
    18. Carlo Cambini & Laura Rondi & Yossi Spiegel, 2012. "Investment and the Strategic Role of Capital Structure in Regulated Industries: Theory and Evidence," Chapters, in: Joseph E. Harrington Jr & Yannis Katsoulacos (ed.), Recent Advances in the Analysis of Competition Policy and Regulation, chapter 13, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Terstiege, Stefan, 2016. "Gathering imperfect information before signing a contract," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 70-87.
    20. Rizov, Marian, 2008. "Corporate capital structure and how soft budget constraints may affect it," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 22(4), pages 648-684.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regulatory policy design; Information acquisition; Inducing efficient technologies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • L5 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

    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:eee:indorg:v:37:y:2014:i:c:p:13-22. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505551 .

    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.