Journal of law, economics and organization, 2015, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 3-39Williamson's 1976 study of natural-monopoly franchise bidding launched extensive debate concerning the degree to which transaction-cost problems afflict government franchising. We propose that municipalities vary in ability to discipline franchisees, and that this heterogeneous ability affects franchise renewal patterns and the quasi-rents that franchisees extract. We study provision of municipal water services in France, a setting characterized by both direct public provision and franchised private providers. We find that small municipalities pay a significant price premium for franchisee-provided water when compared with publicly provided water; in contrast, large municipalities do not pay a premium on average. Further, large municipalities are less likely to renew an incumbent franchisee that charges an “excessive” price, while small municipalities’ renewal patterns are not influenced by franchisees’ excessive pricing. We interpret the results as evidence that although large municipalities can discipline franchisees and thus prevent extraction of quasi-rents, small municipalities are less able to do so due to weaker outside options.
Aviation is crucial for Europe's mobility, connectivity and competitiveness. With over 900 million air passengers travelling to, from and within the European Union each year, Europe makes up a third [...]
Lack of interoperability is increasingly becoming a significant issue in the electricity sector. The need to integrate a growing amount of distributed resources, such as renewable energy sources and electric [...]
The energy transition calls for a rapid expansion of electricity grids at both transmission and distribution levels. Technological progress and digitalisation offer new solutions to system needs that can increase [...]
The interaction of “Contracts”, “Markets” and “Law and Regulation” have informed the economic analysis of market economies for over 40 years. One of the main lessons learnt is that (contracts), [...]
Rail transport and inland waterways are crucial to achieve the objectives outlined in the Green Deal agenda. These aims include a 55% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 and attaining [...]
Urban mobility plays a key role for the promotion of the socio-economic development of a country. Particularly, MaaS platforms are important for those daily journeys made by travellers that must [...]
Join our community
To meet, discuss and learn in the channel that suits you best.
Read it on Cadmus
