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Author: Cesar Cancho Diez
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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This dissertation contains two essays on the analysis of market imperfections. In the first essay, I empirically test whether in a three-level hierarchy with asymmetries of information, more competition among intermediaries leads to more deception against the principal. In this setting, intermediaries supervise agents by delegation of the principal, and compete among themselves to provide supervision services to the agents. They cannot be perfectly monitored, therefore allowing them to manipulate supervision results in favor of the agents, and potentially leading to less than optimal outcomes for the principal. Using inspection-level data from the vehicular inspection program in Atlanta, I test for the existence of inspection deception (false positives), and whether this incidence is a function of the number of local competitors by station. I estimate the incidence of the most common form of false positives (clean piping) to be 9% of the passing inspections during the sample period. Moreover, the incidence of clean piping -- passing results of a different vehicle fraudulently applied to a failing vehicle -- per station increases by 0.7% with one more competitor within a 0.5 mile radius. These results are consistent with the presence of more competitors exacerbating the perverse incentives introduced by competition under this setting. In the second essay, we test whether electricity consumption by industrial and commercial customers responds to real-time prices after these firms sign-up for prices linked to the electricity wholesale market price. In principle, time-varying prices (TVP) can mitigate market power in wholesale markets and promote the integration of intermittent generation sources such as wind and solar power. However, little is known about the prevalence of TVP, especially in deregulated retail markets where customers can choose whether to adopt TVP, and how these firms change their consumption after signing up for this type of tariff. We study firm-level data on commercial and industrial customers in Texas, and estimate the magnitude of demand responsiveness using demand equations that consider the restrictions imposed by the microeconomic theory. We find a meaningful level of take-up of TVP? in some sectors more than one-quarter of customers signed up for TVP. Nevertheless, the estimated price responsiveness of consumption is still small. Estimations by size and by type of industry show that own price elasticities are in most cases below 0.01 in absolute value. In the only cases that own price elasticities reach 0.02 in absolute value, the magnitude of demand response compared to the aggregate demand is negligible.
Author: Cesar Cancho Diez
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
This dissertation contains two essays on the analysis of market imperfections. In the first essay, I empirically test whether in a three-level hierarchy with asymmetries of information, more competition among intermediaries leads to more deception against the principal. In this setting, intermediaries supervise agents by delegation of the principal, and compete among themselves to provide supervision services to the agents. They cannot be perfectly monitored, therefore allowing them to manipulate supervision results in favor of the agents, and potentially leading to less than optimal outcomes for the principal. Using inspection-level data from the vehicular inspection program in Atlanta, I test for the existence of inspection deception (false positives), and whether this incidence is a function of the number of local competitors by station. I estimate the incidence of the most common form of false positives (clean piping) to be 9% of the passing inspections during the sample period. Moreover, the incidence of clean piping -- passing results of a different vehicle fraudulently applied to a failing vehicle -- per station increases by 0.7% with one more competitor within a 0.5 mile radius. These results are consistent with the presence of more competitors exacerbating the perverse incentives introduced by competition under this setting. In the second essay, we test whether electricity consumption by industrial and commercial customers responds to real-time prices after these firms sign-up for prices linked to the electricity wholesale market price. In principle, time-varying prices (TVP) can mitigate market power in wholesale markets and promote the integration of intermittent generation sources such as wind and solar power. However, little is known about the prevalence of TVP, especially in deregulated retail markets where customers can choose whether to adopt TVP, and how these firms change their consumption after signing up for this type of tariff. We study firm-level data on commercial and industrial customers in Texas, and estimate the magnitude of demand responsiveness using demand equations that consider the restrictions imposed by the microeconomic theory. We find a meaningful level of take-up of TVP? in some sectors more than one-quarter of customers signed up for TVP. Nevertheless, the estimated price responsiveness of consumption is still small. Estimations by size and by type of industry show that own price elasticities are in most cases below 0.01 in absolute value. In the only cases that own price elasticities reach 0.02 in absolute value, the magnitude of demand response compared to the aggregate demand is negligible.
Author: Christina Maria Ursula Korting
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 188
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Book Description
As awareness regarding the adverse climate and health impacts of fossil-based energy sources grows around the world, so does the need for rigorous evaluation of possible interventions aimed at promoting the use of renewable energy alternatives. The introduction of renewable resources often creates unforeseen tensions because they differ from the fossil-based energy sources they replace either in physical composition (as in the case of biofuels) or due to the nature and timing of their production (as in the case of renewable electricity sources). In this dissertation, I use numerical simulation methods and experiments to study two such challenges in detail-blending constraints for biofuels in transportation and contracts aiming to address solar-induced peaks in electricity demand. The analyses developed here aim to inform regulatory decision making by quantifying the potential challenges and highlighting previously undocumented effects of renewable energy integration. This dissertation consists of three essays. The first two chapters study the market effects and incidence of a physical constraint on biofuel blending; the so called "ethanol blend-wall". The existence of this constraint substantially affects the chosen compliance channels and hence welfare implications of the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) which mandate the use of biofuels in transportation in the US. The third chapter provides experimental evidence for the existence of a "control premium" (an intrinsic preference for retaining control over a decision right above and beyond its instrumental value) in a context relevant to solar electricity integration: due to the timing of solar production, an increasing share of solar generation exacerbates demand peaks in the early evening relative to demand during the surrounding hours. Peak demand creates the need for costly short-term generation capacity which is often associated with higher marginal costs and increased emissions. One demand-side tool to address these peaks are Direct Load Control (DLC) contracts which strive to reduce or shift peak electricity demand by compensating consumers for granting utilities the right to turn off certain appliances remotely in times of tight supply. However, I experimentally show that the compensation which consumers require to adopt this type of contract exceeds the value of the usage benefits they forgo due to an intrinsic preference to retain control. The first chapter, "Demystifying RINs: A Partial Equilibrium Model of U.S. Biofuels Markets," co-authored with David Just, examines the available compliance channels under the RFS and highlights how their relative use depends on the prevailing mandate requirements. As market pressures increase due to rising total renewable mandates in the presence of binding ethanol infrastructure constraints, the simulation results provide evidence for two important compliance channels not usually emphasized in the literature: overage from nested mandate categories and a contraction of the market for low-ethanol blend fuels such as E10 in order to reduce the overall compliance base. In fact, I show that the overall markets for motor gasoline and diesel fuel may contract in order to accommodate the mandates. In addition, the paper studies the price formation of the main mandate compliance instrument, so called Renwable (Renewable) Identification Numbers (RINs), and points out important inconsistencies in the usual practice of equating the price of RINs to the gap between ethanol supply and demand evaluated at the mandate level. The second chapter, "Who Will Pay for Increasing Biofuel Mandates? Incidence of the Renewable Fuel Standard Given a Binding Blend Wall," coauthored with David Just and Harry de Gorter, extends this analysis to study the resulting welfare implications. This analysis fills an important gap in the literature by explicitly taking the nested mandate structure and joint compliance into account. We show that these two regulatory features effectively create a dual link between gasoline and diesel markets with the result that the cost of increasing biofuel mandates given a binding ethanol blend wall falls disproportionately on diesel fuel consumers. This result is likely to have significant general equilibrium ramifications through indirect channels such as inflation since the main consumers of diesel fuel in the U.S. are trucks and trains. Overall, these two chapters provide important insights into the market and welfare consequences of the ethanol blend wall which has important implications for the future implementation of the RFS. The third chapter, "Taking a Load Off: Experimental Evidence of Preferences for Control with an Application to Residential Electricity Demand," uses a novel experimental design to show that intrinsic preferences for control can significantly impact the rewards required to encourage consumers to participate in DLC-style contracts. My findings relate to earlier work outside of the energy domain showing that individuals value retaining control over payoffds or delegation rights above instrumental value. This paper makes important contributions to both the behavioral economics literature and the literature on the cost and effectiveness of demand response programs. First, I provide evidence for the existence of a control premium in a novel experimental setting that speaks directly to the energy context. More broadly, my findings apply to instances of interruptible service or non-price rationing in which the reliability of service differs between consumers depending on their contract choices, such as the quality of alternative WIFI options in a hotel. Unlike existing research on the acceptability of DLC contracts, this result is based on incentive-compatible decisions in a controlled laboratory environment. Second, I replicate earlier findings regarding the sensitivity of control premia to stake size. Third, I extend the literature by testnig whether control premia respond to probabilities: while existing research focuses on one-shot delegation settings, I allow the probability of losing control to vary within subject. Lastly, I explore whether individuals exhibit an endowment effect with respect to control, i.e. whether increasing the probability of losing control triggers a stronger emotional response than regaining a commensurate amount of control. I find that participants, on average, exhibit a control premium of 9-32%, and are sensitive to both the stakes and probability of losing control.
Author: United States. Federal Energy Administration. Task Force on Compliance and Enforcement
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Energy policy
Languages : en
Pages : 520
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Author: United States. Federal Energy Regulation Study Team
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Energy policy
Languages : en
Pages : 158
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Author: Lauren Sullivan
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 1429935529
Category : Study Aids
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
YOUR LIFE . . . IN 300 WORDS OR LESS It's a daunting task. Even the most seasoned professionals find business school application essays to be among the hardest pieces they ever write. With a diverse pool of talented people applying to the nation's top schools from the most successful companies and prestigious undergraduate programs in the world, a simple biography detailing accomplishments and goals isn't enough. Applicants need clear and compelling arguments that grab admissions officers and absolutely refuse to let go. To help them write the essays that get them accepted into Harvard or any of the country's other top programs, the staff of The Harbus---HBS's student newspaper---have updated and revised their collection of sixty-five actual application essays as well as their detailed analysis of them so that applicants will be able to: * Avoid common pitfalls * Play to their strengths * Get their message across Wherever they are applying, the advice and tested strategies in 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays give business professionals and undergraduates the insider's knowledge to market themselves most effectively and truly own the process.
Author: Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815715696
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 592
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Book Description
This comprehensive survey of transportation economic policy pays homage to a classic work, Techniques of Transportation Planning, by renowned transportation scholar John R. Meyer. With contributions from leading economists in the field, it includes added emphasis on policy developments and analysis. The book covers the basic analytic methods used in transportation economics and policy analysis; focuses on the automobile, as both the mainstay of American transportation and the source of some of its most serious difficulties; covers key issues of urban public transportation; and analyzes the impact of regulation and deregulation on the U.S. airline, railroad, and trucking industries. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Alan A. Altshuler, Harvard University; Ronald R. Braeutigam, Northwestern University; Robert E. Gallamore, Union Pacific Railroad; Arnold M. Howitt, Harvard University; Gregory K. Ingram, The Wold Bank; John F. Kain, University of Texas at Dallas; Charles Lave, University of California, Irvine; Lester Lave, Carnegie Mellon University; Robert A. Leone, Boston University; Zhi Liu, The World Bank; Herbert Mohring, University of Minnesota; Steven A. Morrison, Northeastern University; Katherine M. O'Regan, Yale University; Don Pickrell, U.S. Department of Transportation; John M. Quigley, University of California, Berkeley; Ian Savage, Northwestern University; and Kenneth A. Small, University of California Irvine.
Author: Cynthia Giles
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197656749
Category : Environmental law
Languages : en
Pages : 305
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Book Description
Nearly everyone accepts as gospel two assumptions: compliance with environmental rules is high, and enforcement is responsible for making compliance happen. Both are wrong. In fact, serious violations of environmental regulations are widespread, and by far the most important driver of compliance results is not enforcement but the structure of the rule itself. In Next Generation Compliance, Cynthia Giles shows that well-designed regulations deploying creative strategies to make compliance the default can achieve excellent implementation outcomes. Poorly designed rules that create many opportunities to evade, obfuscate, or ignore will have dismal performance that no amount of enforcement will ever fix. Rampant violations have real consequences: unhealthy air, polluted water, contaminated drinking water, exposure to dangerous chemicals, and unrestrained climate-forcing pollution. They also land hardest on already overburdened communities - that's why Next Gen and environmental justice are tightly linked. The good news is there are tools to build much better compliance into regulations, including many tested strategies that can be the building blocks of programs that withstand the inevitable pressures of real life. Next Generation Compliance shows how regulators can avoid the compliance calamities that plague far too many environmental rules today, a lesson that is particularly urgent for regulations tackling climate change. It has an optimistic message: there are ways to ensure reliable results, if regulators jettison incorrect assumptions and design rules that are resilient to the mess and complexity of the real world.
Author: Yulia Selivanova
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
ISBN: 9041142797
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 448
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Book Description
Starting from the premise that a multilateral legal framework is the surest way to achieve predictability and transparency under conditions of increasing reliance on internationally traded energy, the essays gathered in this book treat the many complex interlocking issues raised by examining that desideratum in the light of current reality. Concentrating on the application of WTO agreements to energy trade – as well as energy-related issues addressed in the current WTO negotiations – the authors offer in-depth discussion and analysis of such issues as the following: the effectiveness of existing WTO agreements in addressing issues pertinent to energy trade how restrictive practices of energy endowed countries can be tackled under existing international trade rules; existing frameworks for investment in highly capital-intensive energy infrastructure projects;and conditions for access to pipelines and transmission grids; regulation of energy services; bioenergy development and trade; energy issues addressed in the WTO accession negotiations of energy endowed countries; international instruments of resolution of energy-related disputes.
Author: Zhongmin Wang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Power resources
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Author: Colin Robinson
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 9781840647983
Category : Competition
Languages : en
Pages : 274
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Book Description
Covering a wide and fascinating selection of topics incorporating the whole spectrum of energy economics, this book examines the belief that markets are the key to the effective allocation of resources, a notion which arguably applies as much to energy as it does to any other commodity. In particular it focuses on several pertinent issues including: competition and regulation in gas and electricity; comparative efficiency analysis in electricity regulation; UK coal in competitive markets; vertical integration in the oil industry; cluster developments in the UK continental shelf; modelling underlying energy demand trends; and emissions targets, environmental Kuznets curves and incentive mechanisms.
