{"title":"Endogenous competition with an integrated public utility firm under an output subsidy policy","authors":"Lili Xu , Sang-Ho Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.jup.2024.101720","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, we consider a mixed downstream market wherein a vertically integrated public utility firm competes with a private firm that purchases inputs from an upstream firm under output subsidies. We construct an endogenous competition mode game and find that not only do pure Cournot and Bertrand competitions appear as equilibria, but a hybrid Bertrand-Cournot competition can also materialize depending on the subsidy rate. However, Cournot competition appears as a unique equilibrium in the private market irrespective of subsidy rate. We demonstrate that privatization, accompanied by subsidization that shifts firms’ coordination from a hybrid Bertrand-Cournot competition to a Cournot competition, could improve welfare.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":23554,"journal":{"name":"Utilities Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Utilities Policy","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957178724000134","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In this study, we consider a mixed downstream market wherein a vertically integrated public utility firm competes with a private firm that purchases inputs from an upstream firm under output subsidies. We construct an endogenous competition mode game and find that not only do pure Cournot and Bertrand competitions appear as equilibria, but a hybrid Bertrand-Cournot competition can also materialize depending on the subsidy rate. However, Cournot competition appears as a unique equilibrium in the private market irrespective of subsidy rate. We demonstrate that privatization, accompanied by subsidization that shifts firms’ coordination from a hybrid Bertrand-Cournot competition to a Cournot competition, could improve welfare.
期刊介绍:
Utilities Policy is deliberately international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral. Articles address utility trends and issues in both developed and developing economies. Authors and reviewers come from various disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, law, finance, accounting, management, and engineering. Areas of focus include the utility and network industries providing essential electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater, solid waste, communications, broadband, postal, and public transportation services.
Utilities Policy invites submissions that apply various quantitative and qualitative methods. Contributions are welcome from both established and emerging scholars as well as accomplished practitioners. Interdisciplinary, comparative, and applied works are encouraged. Submissions to the journal should have a clear focus on governance, performance, and/or analysis of public utilities with an aim toward informing the policymaking process and providing recommendations as appropriate. Relevant topics and issues include but are not limited to industry structures and ownership, market design and dynamics, economic development, resource planning, system modeling, accounting and finance, infrastructure investment, supply and demand efficiency, strategic management and productivity, network operations and integration, supply chains, adaptation and flexibility, service-quality standards, benchmarking and metrics, benefit-cost analysis, behavior and incentives, pricing and demand response, economic and environmental regulation, regulatory performance and impact, restructuring and deregulation, and policy institutions.