Tapia Canales, J.; (2012) Analysing economic regulation through institutions, finance and public law. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The thesis analyses economic regulation primarily through the lenses of institutions, finance and public law. In terms of positive analysis, it focuses on post-privatisation developments in the UK. The first chapter sets out the framework of analysis. Traditional models to study economic regulation are critically assessed. It is argued that these frameworks make only partial assessments of regulation under simplified assumptions. However, it is possible to find complementarities that may serve as fundamentals for further study. Chapter II proposes to broaden the theoretical framework of analysis in three directions, with the aim of providing guidance on how to structure regulatory design in an interdisciplinary context. The third chapter deals with financial implications of regulation. The case of regulation of the capital structure of utilities firms and the regulatory assessment of the cost of capital is specifically studied in order to exemplify the control of risks under regulatory practice. In the fourth chapter the argument is extended to the analysis of the role of the State in infrastructure industries and the significant function that risk plays in economic regulation. It is argued that regulators should control focus their analysis on risk control and the avoidance of the provision of State guarantees as much as possible. Finally, chapter V looks at the role of the courts and the judicial scrutiny of sector-specific economic regulators’ decisions. Since the introduction of specialisation, judicial scrutiny is having an ever-increasing influence on substantive regulatory decisions in the UK. Despite this, some flaws in the regulatory design are highlighted, along with proposals to overcome them. The thesis concludes with some implications for policy design and the analysis of economic regulation.

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