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Environmental externalities and regulation constrained cost productivity growth in the US electric utility industry

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  • Gerald Granderson
  • Diego Prior

Abstract

This paper examines whether having to comply with Phase 1 of Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act, and rate of return regulation, each impacted the rate of total factor productivity (TFP) growth when accounting for the production of good and bad outputs. Phase 1, effective from 1995 to 1999, requires electric utilities to reduce their emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide (bad outputs). Actions undertaken to reduce the emissions (using less sulfur content coal, installing equipment), may have led to higher production costs, and impacted the rate of TFP growth. Rate regulation may impact how the firm produces its selected output level, which could lead to higher cost over time, and biased estimates of TFP growth. Following the work of Ball et al. (Struct Change Econ Dyn 16(3): 374–394, 2005 ), who developed the standard Malmquist cost productivity (MCP) index, we develop a MCP index for a rate regulated firm (RMCP index) then use the standard and regulated indices to determine whether having to comply with Phase 1 impacted TFP growth. Empirical results indicate that (i) the RMCP index underestimated the rate at which TFP growth occurred, (ii) Phase 1 utilities on average experienced positive TFP growth from 1996 to 2000 (Phase 1 firms experienced higher TFP growth rates than the rates experienced by firms not subject to Phase 1), and operated more allocatively inefficient in complying with the Phase 1 restrictions. Complying with Phase 1 did not affect the rate at which technical change occurred or the rates of change in scale efficiency. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

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  • Gerald Granderson & Diego Prior, 2013. "Environmental externalities and regulation constrained cost productivity growth in the US electric utility industry," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 243-257, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jproda:v:39:y:2013:i:3:p:243-257
    DOI: 10.1007/s11123-012-0301-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Kenneth Løvold Rødseth, 2017. "Environmental regulations and allocative efficiency: application to coal-to-gas substitution in the U.S. electricity sector," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 129-142, April.
    2. Ke Wang & Yujiao Xian & Chia-Yen Lee & Yi-Ming Wei & Zhimin Huang, 2019. "On selecting directions for directional distance functions in a non-parametric framework: a review," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 278(1), pages 43-76, July.
    3. Jinhuang Mao & Qiong Wu & Meihong Zhu & Chengpeng Lu, 2022. "Effects of Environmental Regulation on Green Total Factor Productivity: An Evidence from the Yellow River Basin, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Arabi, Behrouz & Munisamy, Susila & Emrouznejad, Ali & Toloo, Mehdi & Ghazizadeh, Mohammad Sadegh, 2016. "Eco-efficiency considering the issue of heterogeneity among power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 722-735.
    5. Fangqing Wei & Junfei Chu & Jiayun Song & Feng Yang, 2019. "A cross-bargaining game approach for direction selection in the directional distance function," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 41(3), pages 787-807, September.
    6. Hao Cai & Ling Liang & Jing Tang & Qianxian Wang & Lihong Wei & Jiaping Xie, 2019. "An Empirical Study on the Efficiency and Influencing Factors of the Photovoltaic Industry in China and an Analysis of Its Influencing Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-22, November.
    7. Balk, B.M. & Zofío, J.L., 2018. "The Many Decompositions of Total Factor Productivity Change," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2018-003-LIS, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    8. Rolf Färe & Shawna Grosskopf & Carl A. Pasurka, 2023. "Revealed pollution abatement costs revisited," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 25(4), pages 601-629, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regulation; Productivity growth; Clean Air act; D24; L94;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities

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