IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jlawec/doi10.1086-687755.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Power to the People: Does Ownership Type Influence Electricity Service?

Author

Listed:
  • Richard T. Boylan

Abstract

After storm-related power outages, many have recommended municipalizing investor-owned utilities, claiming that profit-making utilities have insufficient incentive to prepare for storms. I provide empirical evidence that municipal utilities spend more on maintenance of their distribution network than investor-owned utilities. Nonetheless, I find that storms significantly disrupt electricity consumption in areas served by municipal utilities but do not disrupt areas served by investor-owned utilities. These results are based on a stratified random sample of 241 investor-owned, 96 cooperative, and 94 municipal utilities in the United States between 1999 and 2012. I conclude that municipal utilities' in-efficiencies are more important in causing power outages than investor-owned utilities' disincentives to spend on maintenance.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard T. Boylan, 2016. "Power to the People: Does Ownership Type Influence Electricity Service?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(2), pages 441-476.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:doi:10.1086/687755
    DOI: 10.1086/687755
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/687755
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/687755
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/687755?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. Christian Growitsch & Tooraj Jamasb & Michael Pollitt, 2009. "Quality of service, efficiency and scale in network industries: an analysis of European electricity distribution," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(20), pages 2555-2570.
    2. Gonzalez-Eiras, Martín & Rossi, Martín, 2007. "The Impact of Electricity Sector Privatization on Public Health," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3349, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Nancy L. Rose & Paul L. Joskow, 1990. "The Diffusion of New Technologies: Evidence from the Electric Utility Industry," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(3), pages 354-373, Autumn.
    4. Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert Vishny, 1997. "Privatization in the United States," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 28(3), pages 447-471, Autumn.
    5. Peltzman, Sam, 1971. "Pricing in Public and Private Enterprises: Electric Utilities in the United States," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 109-147, April.
    6. Martín Gonzalez-Eiras & Martín A. Rossi, 2007. "The Impact of Electricity Sector Privatization on Public Health," Research Department Publications 3228, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    7. Levitt, Steven D, 1997. "Using Electoral Cycles in Police Hiring to Estimate the Effect of Police on Crime," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 270-290, June.
    8. Peter Hartley, 1999. "Reform of the Electricity Supply Industry," Economía Mexicana NUEVA ÉPOCA, CIDE, División de Economía, vol. 0(1), pages 45-90, January-J.
    9. Anna Ter-Martirosyan & John Kwoka, 2010. "Incentive regulation, service quality, and standards in U.S. electricity distribution," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 258-273, December.
    10. Catherine Hausman, 2014. "Corporate Incentives and Nuclear Safety," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 178-206, August.
    11. Oliver Hart & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1127-1161.
    12. Amy Ellen Schwartz (ed.), 2004. "City Taxes, City Spending," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3079.
    13. Ariel R. Belasen & Solomon W. Polachek, 2009. "How Disasters Affect Local Labor Markets: The Effects of Hurricanes in Florida," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(1).
    14. Fumagalli, Elena & Garrone, Paola & Grilli, Luca, 2007. "Service quality in the electricity industry: The role of privatization and managerial behavior," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 6212-6224, December.
    15. Ali Yurukoglu & Claire Lim, 2014. "Dynamic Natural Monopoly Regulation: Time Inconsistency, Asymmetric Information, and Political Environments," 2014 Meeting Papers 530, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    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. Tin Cheuk Leung & Kwok Ping Ping & Kevin K. Tsui, 2019. "What can deregulators deregulate? The case of electricity," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 1-32, August.
    2. Xie, Bai-Chen & Zhang, Zhen-Jiang & Anaya, Karim L., 2021. "Has the unbundling reform improved the service efficiency of China's power grid firms?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    3. Astrid Cullmann & Maria Nieswand & Julia Rechlitz, 2017. "Productive Efficiency and Ownership When Market Restructuring Affects Production Technologies," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1641, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    4. Xie, Bai-Chen & Ni, Kang-Kang & O'Neill, Eoghan & Li, Hong-Zhou, 2021. "The scale effect in China's power grid sector from the perspective of malmquist total factor productivity analysis," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    5. Meade, Richard & Söderberg, Magnus, 2020. "Is welfare higher when utilities are owned by customers instead of investors? Evidence from electricity distribution in New Zealand," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Englmaier, Florian & Roider, Andreas & Stowasser, Till & Hinreiner, Lisa, 2017. "Power Politics: Electoral Cycles in German Electricity Prices," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168267, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Daniel Thompson & Gianluca Pescaroli, 2024. "Financing electricity resilience in local communities: a review of the literature," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 740-762, September.
    8. Richard Meade & Magnus Soderberg, 2017. "Welfare-Maximising Investors? – Utility Firm Performance with Heterogeneous Quality Preferences and Endogenous Ownership," Working Papers 2017-09, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.

    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. Yuan, Peng & Pu, Yuran & Liu, Chang, 2021. "Improving electricity supply reliability in China: Cost and incentive regulation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    2. Edward L. Glaeser, 2012. "Urban Public Finance," NBER Working Papers 18244, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Fenrick, Steve A. & Getachew, Lullit, 2012. "Cost and reliability comparisons of underground and overhead power lines," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 31-37.
    4. Cheng, Cheng & Long, Wei, 2018. "Improving police services: Evidence from the French Quarter Task Force," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-18.
    5. Caroline Stiel & Astrid Cullmann & Maria Nieswand, 2015. "Productivity in Electricity Retail after Market Liberalisation: Analysing the Effects of Ownership and Firm's Governance Structure," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1531, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    6. Caroline Stiel & Astrid Cullmann & Maria Nieswand, 2018. "Do Private Utilities Outperform Local Government‐Owned Utilities? Evidence from German Retail Electricity," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 19(4), pages 401-425, November.
    7. Stiel, Caroline & Cullmann, Astrid & Nieswand, Maria, 2018. "Do Private Utilities Outperform Local Government-Owned Utilities? Evidence from German Retail Electricity," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 19(4), pages 401-425.
    8. Kitchens, Carl T. & Jaworski, Taylor, 2017. "Ownership and the price of residential electricity: Evidence from the United States, 1935–1940," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 53-61.
    9. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3573-3630 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Bertacchini, Enrico & Dalle Nogare, Chiara, 2014. "Public provision vs. outsourcing of cultural services: Evidence from Italian cities," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 168-182.
    11. Xavier Fageda & Germa Bel, 2008. "Local privatization, intermunicipal cooperation,transaction costs and political interests: Evidence from Spain," IREA Working Papers 200804, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Apr 2008.
    12. Paul Walker, 2016. "From complete to incomplete (contracts): A survey of the mainstream approach to the theory of privatisation," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 212-229, August.
    13. Gregory, Robert G. & Borland, Jeff, 1999. "Recent developments in public sector labor markets," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 53, pages 3573-3630, Elsevier.
    14. Andrea Boitani & Marcella Nicolini & Carlo Scarpa, 2013. "Do competition and ownership matter? Evidence from local public transport in Europe," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(11), pages 1419-1434, April.
    15. Stephen King & Rohan Pitchford, 2008. "Private or Public? Towards a Taxonomy of Optimal Ownership and Management Regimes," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 84(266), pages 366-377, September.
    16. Matthew Holian, 2009. "Outsourcing in US cities, ambulances and elderly voters," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 421-445, December.
    17. Ater, Itai & Givati, Yehonatan & Rigbi, Oren, 2014. "Organizational structure, police activity and crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 62-71.
    18. Pablo David Necoechea-Porras & Asunción López & Juan Carlos Salazar-Elena, 2021. "Deregulation in the Energy Sector and Its Economic Effects on the Power Sector: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    19. Andrei Shleifer, 1998. "State versus Private Ownership," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 133-150, Fall.
    20. Germà Bel & Xavier Fageda, 2009. "Factors explaining local privatization: a meta-regression analysis," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 105-119, April.
    21. Yevgeniy Goryakin & Lorenzo Rocco & Marc Suhrcke & Bayard Roberts & Martin McKee, 2014. "The effect of health on labour supply in nine former Soviet Union countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 15(1), pages 57-68, January.

    More about this item

    Lists

    This item is featured on the following reading lists, Wikipedia, or ReplicationWiki pages:
    1. Power to the People: Does Ownership Type Influence Electricity Service? (JL&E 2016) in ReplicationWiki

    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:ucp:jlawec:doi:10.1086/687755. 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: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JLE .

    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.