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

Tomaso Duso, Jo Seldeslachts and Florian Szücs
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Florian Szücs

The Energy Journal, 2019, vol. 40, issue 5, 97-120

Abstract: We investigate the impact of competition policy enforcement on the functioning of European energy markets while accounting for sectoral regulation. For this purpose, we compile a novel dataset on the European Commission’s (EC) and EU member states’ competition policy decisions in energy markets 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 tools—EC state aid control and anti-trust, as well as all member state policy variables—do not have a uniform effect on energy markets. Our findings are consistent with the idea that the EC’s merger policy actions have been used to overcome obstacles to a well-functioning EU energy sector and may have contributed to the overall development of gas and electricity markets in Europe.

Keywords: Ex-post; evaluation; competition; policy; energy; markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5547/01956574.40.5.tdus (text/html)

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)
Working Paper: The Impact of Competition Policy Enforcement on the Functioning of EU Energy Markets (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:enejou:v:40:y:2019:i:5:p:97-120

DOI: 10.5547/01956574.40.5.tdus

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