Regulatory Effectiveness: The Impact of Regulation and Regulatory Governance Arrangements on Electricity Industry Outcomes

Abstract

The paper reviews a number of studies of the effectiveness of utility regulatory agency and governance arrangements for the electricity industry, particularly for developing countries. It discusses governance criteria and their measurement, both legal frameworks and surveys of regulatory practice. It also discusses the results from econometric studies of effectiveness for regulatory agencies in the electricity and telecommunications industries and compares these with the results from econometric studies of independent central banks and their governance. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy implications and also of priorities for information collection to improve understanding of these issues.