The monopoly v competition debate

Bergendorff, Hans; Larsson, Torsten; Näslund, Ruben

doi:10.1016/0308-5961(83)90084-8

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Arguments for and against monopoly and competition in the provision of services embrace many perspectives [44,45]. Subadditivity assumes that the output level is produced at the lowest cost by a single firm [38].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the Organization of Municipal Solid Waste Management Based on Production Costs

Beccarello

Foggia

2023

Urban Science

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A long-lasting dilemma on the efficient provision of services of general economic interest has become increasingly important in the waste management industry: competition or monopoly in municipal solid waste management. Previous literature has primarily examined the economics of scale and scope to provide an adequate response. Here, we contribute by investigating subadditivity in municipal solid waste management service costs. Subadditivity is a critical concept used to justify imperfect competition, which encourages natural monopolies where one producer will function more effectively than more firms. To test the hypothesis that a subadditivity in costs in waste management exists, we design a simulation based on empirical data for Milan, Italy. We compared the total production cost of the incumbent firm with the alternative hypothesis built by dividing the city into four areas and assigning each area to a different hypothetical firm. The results suggest that the existence of subadditivity results in 6% lower production costs, primarily stemming from business synergies, lower transactional costs, and optimization of productive resources and facilities. The evidence justifies, ceteris paribus, that the provision by a single firm is preferable to multiple firms in the analysis case. Implications for policies are straightforward. The one-fit rule approach fails to set the best condition for policymakers to create a level playing field transparently and efficiently for industry operators to perform efficiently.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining the Organization of Municipal Solid Waste Management Based on Production Costs

Beccarello

Foggia

2023

Urban Science

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“…Natural gas distribution is a public service of economic interest (European Commission, 2022), typically a local monopoly (Bergendorff et al, 1983;Joskow, 2007) entrusted to distribution companies via different approaches: in-house, via open tendering procedures, or through public-private partnerships (Dorigoni & Portatadino, 2009;FiedZiuk, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incentivizing Criteria for Steering the Implementation of Gas Distribution Investment Projects

Beccarello¹,

Foggia²

2023

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Natural gas distribution involves delivering gas to end customers via local low-pressure pipelines and is a public service. As part of the procedure for awarding the gas distribution service, contracting authorities define the scope of programmatic guidelines whereas firms participating in the open bidding process propose development plans through which they propose investment projects typically classified into extensions, upgrades, and maintenance development plans. According to the scale and scope of development plans, such investment projects must undergo, or are exempt from, a cost-benefit analysis. The criteria for classifying investment projects are called development conditions. This paper focuses on such criteria, proposing a new methodology aimed at incentivizing investment projects and simplifying the evaluation process. Results confirm that an improvement can be made in making development conditions more adequate to the needs of different territories. Policymakers can benefit from this paper, as investors and contracting authorities require a common methodology at the heart of the analysis of gas distribution network extension.

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Strategy in the telecommunications market

Carney

1986

Telecommunications Policy

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The monopoly v competition debate

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Defining the Organization of Municipal Solid Waste Management Based on Production Costs

Defining the Organization of Municipal Solid Waste Management Based on Production Costs

Incentivizing Criteria for Steering the Implementation of Gas Distribution Investment Projects

Strategy in the telecommunications market

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