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Do elected public utility commissioners behave more politically than appointed ones?

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  • Troy Quast

Abstract

This paper investigates whether the means by which public utility commissioners are selected affects the influence of political affiliation on policy choices. This question is asked in the context of telecommunications network lease prices and retail prices. While political affiliation appears to have limited influence on lease prices set by appointed commissioners, it has a significant impact when these prices are set by elected commissioners. Conversely, the political affiliation of appointed regulators appears to affect retail prices, whereas the political affiliation of elected commissioners does not.
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Suggested Citation

  • Troy Quast, 2008. "Do elected public utility commissioners behave more politically than appointed ones?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 318-337, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:regeco:v:33:y:2008:i:3:p:318-337
    DOI: 10.1007/s11149-007-9050-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fields, Joseph A & Klein, Linda S & Sfiridis, James M, 1997. "A Market Based Evaluation of the Election versus Appointment of Regulatory Commissioners," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 92(3-4), pages 337-351, September.
    2. Timothy Besley & Stephen Coate, 2003. "Elected Versus Appointed Regulators: Theory and Evidence," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(5), pages 1176-1206, September.
    3. Smart, Susan R, 1994. "The Consequences of Appointment Methods and Party Control for Telecommunications Pricing," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 301-323, Summer.
    4. David P. Baron, 1988. "Regulation and Legislative Choice," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 19(3), pages 467-477, Autumn.
    5. Susan R. Smart, 1994. "The Consequences of Appointment Methods and Party Control for Telecommunications Pricing," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 301-323, June.
    6. David E. M Sappington, 2005. "On the Irrelevance of Input Prices for Make-or-Buy Decisions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1631-1638, December.
    7. Peter Navarro, 1982. "Public Utility Commission Regulation: Performance, Determinants, and Energy Policy Impacts," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 119-140.
    8. Robert L. Hagerman & Brian T. Ratchford, 1978. "Some Determinants of Allowed Rates of Return on Equity to Electric Utilities," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 9(1), pages 46-55, Spring.
    9. Walter J. Primeaux, Jr. & Patrick C. Mann, 1986. "Regulator Selection Methods and Electricity Prices," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 62(1), pages 1-13.
    10. Dale Lehman & Dennis Weisman, 2000. "The Political Economy of Price Cap Regulation," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 16(4), pages 343-356, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Marc T. Law & Cheryl X. Long, 2011. "Revolving door laws and state public utility commissioners," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(4), pages 405-424, December.
    2. Flavio M. Menezes & Christian Roessler, 2010. "Good and Bad Consistency in Regulatory Decisions," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 86(275), pages 504-516, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public utility commissioners; Telecommunications; Unbundled network elements; H11; K23; L51; L96;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • K23 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications

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