소유구조, 규제 및 시장구조가 가격에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구: 미국의 전력산업과 천연가스산업을 중심으로

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the institutional prices differences in the electricity and natural gas industries using unbalanced panel data from 1999 to 2001. The changing market structures following deregulation in both markets allow us to examine the institutional prices differences by ownership type, market structure and merger activities. Estimating the reduced form, after controlling both intrinsic characteristic (marginal costs) and external factors (demand), allows us to identify the extent to which specific factors are correlated with the price. Furthermore it allows us to identify systematic institutional price differences in both electricity and natural gas markets. Our estimation results suggest that the private firms in electricity markets are associated with higher prices than public firms after controlling for demand and cost. We further find that dual-product firms in the natural gas industry and the electricity industry are associated with lower rates than single product firms. These results provide a weak evidence of economies of scope in the dual-product firms. Our results finally suggest that merger activities in natural gas markets are associated with higher rates.