29285 - Economy and Regulation of Public Utilities

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to analyse the economic, institutional and regulatory specificities of public utilities, both at national and local livel. The course focuses on the main aspects of the radical reform involving the institutional and structural framework of public utilities, with particular reference to the power and natural gas sectors.  The student can also learn the trade-offs involving the liberalization processes and the different models of liberalization adopted in the European States. A special attention will be addressed to the Italian case.

Course contents

1. Public utilities

1.1 Legal aspects: definition and features of public utilities  
1.2 The universal service notion
1.3 Public utilities and organisation models
1.4 The significance of public utilities and the reason for reforms
1.5 Economic and industrial aspects of public utilities 

2. Liberalization
2.1 The reasons for market liberalization

2.2 The conditions for success
2.3 The significance of market structure
3. The energy case
3.1 The reasons for energy peculiarity

3.2 The uneasy pathway toward the european common market 

4. The power and natural gas sectors

4.1 The economics of power industry
4.2 The economics of natural gas industry 
4.3 Liberalisation and propensity to invest 
4.4 A general evaluation on liberalization limits 

5. The local public utilities structure in Italy 
5.1 Toward a new social municipalism
5.2 The long and uneasy pathway of the public local utilities reform 
5.3 Theory and practice
5.4 The competition for the field 
5.5 Is the auction a panacea? 

5.6 The debate terms for the local public utilities reform 

6. The Regulation
6.1 Definition, typlogy and objectives
6.2 The independent Authorities
6.3 Regulation theory
6.4 Market structures, general interest, regulation

6.5 Market failures and regulation failures
6.6 Regulatory framework
6.7 The price setting policy: cost plus and price-cap methods

Readings/Bibliography

Instalment available on AMS Campus http://campus.cib.unibo.it/43743/

Teaching methods

Frontal Lessons

Assessment methods

Written examination

Teaching tools

Instalment available on AMS Campus http://campus.cib.unibo.it/43743/

Office hours

See the website of Alberto Clò