Economists sometimes get confused - especially when the real world doesn't fit into their neat boxes.

Network industries like telephone and electricity are today's case in point. Economists have viewed these parts of the economy as requiring special attention from regulatory authorities. They're viewed as "natural" monopolies displaying "economies of scope" and characterized by risky "lock-in" or "path dependency" features. That supposedly makes them prone to abuse by their free-market owners, and therefore in need of impartial regulatory oversight.

How Competitive Metering Has Failed

 

Declaring Emergencies in California: The Realities of ISO Operation

 

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After the Shakeout: Another Look at the Georgia Gas Market

 

I wanted deregulation. But not if we can't do it right.

As an economist, I confess I failed to predict the disaster in California. But I wasn't the only one. Anybody who tells you differently is either lying, fooling himself, or guilty of Monday morning quarterbacking.

1 1999 TNT 204-24 PECO Energy's Testimony at Finance Hearing on Tax Issues of Electric Power Industry. (Hereinafter, "PECO Energy Testimony.")

2 Treas. Reg. 1.468A (c)(2). For a more detailed explanation, see Nuclear Energy Institute Policy Briefs, "Why Tax Treatment of Decommissioning Trust Funds Must Be Updated to Reflect New Business Conditions," http://www.nei.org/doc.asp?catnum=3&catid=221.

 

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