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UK utilities: Past reform and current proposals
Author(s) -
Markou E.,
Waddams Price C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
annals of public and cooperative economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.526
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-8292
pISSN - 1370-4788
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8292.00118
Subject(s) - equity (law) , public economics , government (linguistics) , work (physics) , competition (biology) , economics , yield (engineering) , regulatory reform , investment (military) , business , economic policy , political science , market economy , politics , engineering , mechanical engineering , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , materials science , metallurgy , law , biology
Utilities in the UK have undergone dramatic reform in the past fifteen years. This paper assesses the outcome by reviewing previously published work and introducing some new evidence, and assesses the UK Government's 1998 proposed reforms. We outline the impact of change of ownership, re‐regulation and introducing competition on efficiency, investment, quality of service, prices and equity. We conclude that these reforms can yield benefits if they are undertaken within a clear framework of wider social and environmental benefits. Initial regulation in the UK has not always satisfied these criteria, and we welcome the government's proposed reforms, with some caveats