The Impact of Competition Policy Enforcement on the Functioning of EU Energy Markets

Tomaso Duso, Jo Seldeslachts and Florian Szücs

No 1674, Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin from DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: We investigate the impact of competition policy enforcement on the functioning of European energy markets, and how sectoral regulation influences these outcomes. For this purpose, we compile a new dataset on the European Commission’s (EC) and EU member states’ competition policy decisions, and combine it with firm- and sector-level data. We find that EC merger policy has a positive and robust impact on (i) the level of competition; (ii) investment; and (iii) productivity. This impact, however, only shows up in low-regulated sectors. Other competition policy decisions – EC state aid and anti-trust interventions; as well as all individual Member State policy variables – do not have a uniform effect on energy markets’ functioning. Our findings are consistent with the idea that the EC’s merger policy actions have been used to overcome significant obstacles to a well-functioning EU energy sector and may well have shaped the overall development of gas and electricity markets in Europe.

Keywords: Ex-post evaluation; energy markets; competition policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D24 L4 L98 Q4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 p.
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-ene, nep-eur, nep-ind and nep-reg
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Impact of Competition Policy Enforcement on the Functioning of EU Energy Markets (2019)
Journal Article: The Impact of Competition Policy Enforcement on the Functioning of EU Energy Markets (2019)
Journal Article: The Impact of Competition Policy Enforcement on the Functioning of EU Energy Markets (2019)
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