To evaluate the impact of regulation on the innovativeness of firms, this study considers the unusual case of electric utilities in the state of Texas. In the current era of deregulation, the electric utility industry in Texas is unique because its regulation was relatively limited until 1975, after which time Texas legislators imposed rate-of-return regulation. Utilizing a trans log cost framework on annual data covering the years 1965 to 1985, this study is thus able to compare the rate of technological change both before and after the imposition of rate-of-return regulation. The findings indicate that before the implementation of rate-of-return regulation, costs decreased significantly because of technological progress. After the implementation, however, the findings indicate that costs increased significantly due to technological regress brought on by regulation.

This volume explores how Texas's groundbreaking program of electricity restructuring has become a model for truly competitive energy markets in the United States. The authors contend that restructuring in Texas has been successful because the industry is free from federal over...

In this book, John P. Burkett presents microeconomics as an evolving science, interacting with mathematics, psychology, and other disciplines and offering solutions to a growing range of practical problems. The book shows how early contributors such as Xenophon, Ibn Khaldun, and David Hume posed the normative and positive questions central to microeconomics. It expounds constrained optimization techniques, as developed by economists and mathematicians from Daniel Bernoulli to Leonid Kantorovich, emphasizing their value in deriving norms of rational behavior and testable hypotheses about typical behavior. Applying these techniques, the book introduces partial equilibrium analysis of particular markets and general equilibrium analysis of market economies. The book both explains how laboratory and field experiments are used in testing economic hypotheses and provides materials for classroom experiments. It gives extensive and innovative coverage of recent findings in cognitive psychology and behavioral economics, which not only document behavior inconsistent with some traditional theories, but also advance positive theories with superior predictive power.

This book assesses the long-term future viability of current business models in electricity, water, rail, and urban public transport and presents policy recommendations.

First published in 1952, the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology) is well established as a major bibliographic reference for students, researchers and librarians in the social sciences worldwide. Key features * Authority: Rigorous standards are applied to make the IBSS the most authoritative selective bibliography ever produced. Articles and books are selected on merit by some of the world's most expert librarians and academics. * Breadth: today the IBSS covers over 2000 journals - more than any other comparable resource. The latest monograph publications are also included. * International Coverage: the IBSS reviews scholarship published in over 30 languages, including publications from Eastern Europe and the developing world. * User friendly organization: all non-English titles are word sections. Extensive author, subject and place name indexes are provided in both English and French.