In the 1980s and '90s many countries turned to the private sector
to provide infrastructure and utilities, such as gas, telephones,
and highways--with the idea that market-based incentives would
control costs and improve the quality of essential services. But
subsequent debacles including the collapse of California's
wholesale electricity market and the bankruptcy of Britain's
largest railroad company have raised troubling questions about
privatization. This book addresses one of the most vexing of these:
how can government fairly and effectively regulate "natural
monopolies"--those infrastructure and utility services whose
technologies make competition impractical?
Rather than sticking to economics, Jose Gomez-Ibanez draws on
history, politics, and a wealth of examples to provide a road map
for various approaches to regulation. He makes a strong case for
favoring market-oriented and contractual approaches--including
private contracts between infrastructure providers and customers as
well as concession contracts with the government acting as an
intermediary--over those that grant government regulators
substantial discretion. Contracts can provide stronger protection
for infrastructure customers and suppliers--and greater
opportunities to tailor services to their mutual advantage. In some
cases, however, the requirements of the firms and their customers
are too unpredictable for contracts to work, and alternative
schemes may be needed.
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