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Competition and regulation as a separate area of research at the ESRI only emerged as a result of the ESRI Research Strategy 2008-2013. Prior to that competition and regulation was subsumed under other programmes. The identification of competition and regulation as a separate area reflects the increasing importance of regulation in the Irish economy combined with the strengthening of competition policy, with the passage of the 2002 Competition Act and the abolition of the Groceries Order in 2006. Our research in competition and regulation currently concentrates on sectoral developments and analysis in energy, the environment and telecommunications. However, over time, in cooperation with other ESRI research programmes, it is envisaged that research on competition and regulation will extend into other areas in which the ESRI has complementary sectoral knowledge, such as transport, health services and the determinants of firm performance and survival. We also intend to research and comment on cross-sectoral issues relating to developments in competition policy and regulatory governance. Research in energy, supported by the Energy Policy Research Centre, analysed the impact of additional interconnection between Ireland and Great Britain on welfare and competition in the Irish electricity market ["Welfare and Competition Effects of Electricity Interconnection between Ireland and Great Britain”; & “Investment in Electricity Infrastructure in a Small Isolated Market: the Case of Ireland”]. The impact and implications of the move towards the creation of internal European Union electricity market is currently being studied, building on the extensive research conducted at the ESRI in this area. Other ongoing work seeks to estimate the costs of supporting renewable electricity generating capacity. Turning to the environment, climate change policy has led to the introduction of new property rights. Two papers considered appropriate market mechanisms for trading national allocations of emission permits [WP292] and Clean Development Mechanism Warrants [“EU Climate Change Policy 2013–2020: Using the Clean Development Mechanism More Effectively in the non-EU-ETS Sector”]. Other work involving environmental regulation focuses on demand modelling and regulatory options for household waste management services ["Managing Household Waste in Ireland: Behavioural Parameters and Policy Options"]. A report, An Economic Approach to Municipal Waste Management Policy in Ireland, was published early in 2010, prepared for Dublin City Council. It set out a framework and rationale for government intervention in municipal waste policy. Building on the research underlying this publication, a submission was prepared in response to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government’s Draft Statement of Waste Policy. In 2010 funding was secured for a programme for research in communications. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Commission for Communications Regulation are jointly funding this programme. Four broad research topics are presently being addressed: 1) Modelling the market for broadband services 2) Economic and social aspects of broadband availability and adoption 3) Effects of electronic communications services on company performance 4) Implications of behavioural economics for economic regulation and consumer protection Papers were completed on the timing and determinants of local residential broadband adoption in Ireland [WP361] and on the effects of computer and internet use on educational outcomes of primary school children. A report for the UK Communications Consumer Panel on behavioural economics and vulnerable consumers was also completed. Attention has also been paid to issues that cut across regulated sectors. A paper was prepared on the October 2009 Government Statement on Economic Regulation, which marks a significant change in the governance of the regulators in energy, transport, telecommunications and aviation [WP373]. In contrast to some jurisdictions, state-owned assets are still of substantial importance in Ireland. A submission was made to the Review Group of State Assets and Liabilities [WP356] as to appropriate public policy towards the sale of such assets in troubled economic times. Finally, attention continues to be paid to the developments in competition policy. Papers have been prepared on the economic analysis presented in Irish court decisions in competition cases, including the appeal in the Kerry/Breeo merger [The Kerry/Breeo Merger: Two Views of Countervailing Buyer Power – the Competition Authority and the High Court] and the Panda Waste case [The Use by Irish Courts of EU Jurisprudence to Resolve Conflicts Between National Competition Law and Regulation: Panda Waste] in which the High Court concluded that the practice of using competitive tendering as the model to collect household waste was a breach of competition law. Future papers will continue to address such issues and the wider implications of such judgments and related issues. Programme Coordinator: Paul K. Gorecki Other researchers who work in this area include: John FitzGerald, Stefanie Haller, Hugh Hennessy, Pete Lunn, Sean Lyons, Laura Malaguzzi Valeri and Richard S. J. Tol.
ESRI research in competition and regulation is closely linked to research in energy, environment and natural resources, and transport and infrastructure.
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