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Risk Sharing, the Cost of Equity and the Optimal Capital Structure of the Regulated Firm

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  • Clive Stones

Abstract

This paper considers the relationship between the regulator’s pricing decision and the allocation of risk between consumers and shareholders. Consumers are willing to trade-off price variations against a lower expected price. Prices are higher in adverse economic conditions, but shareholder returns are not necessarily lower. It might be optimal to insure shareholders against market risk, so that consumers could thereby achieve a lower expected price. The allocation of risk between consumers and shareholders depends on the capital structure of the regulated firm, and a very special set of conditions must apply for the social optimum to be 100% debt finance with the firm operating on a ‘not-for-profit’ basis. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:30:y:2007:i:2:p:139-159
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-007-9131-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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. Spiegel, Yossi & Cambini, Carlo, 2011. "Investment and capital structure of partially private regulated firms," CEPR Discussion Papers 8508, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Singh, Kewal & Singh, Anoop & Prakash, Puneet, 2022. "Estimating the cost of equity for the regulated energy and infrastructure sectors in India," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital structure; Cost of equity; Debt finance; Leverage; Regulation; Risk; G32; G38; L51;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

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