Monetary Policy Effects: Evidence from the Portuguese Flow of Funds

This paper uses a VAR approach to study the transmission of monetary policy shocks in Portugal, focusing in particular on the financial decisions of households, corporations (financial/non-financial), the government and the rest of the world. We confirm that, in many ways, households and firms react in a similar way as found in other countries, with evidence that the monetary policy shock has a contractionary effect on economic activity and increases the financing needs of households and non-financial corporations. We also find evidence that the financial sector plays an important role, supplying the necessary funds to these sectors. We do not find much evidence of a significant systematic behaviour of the government or the rest of the world.

Application of a structural model to a wholesale electricity market: The Spanish market from January 1999 to June 2007

The aim of this work is to analyse the agents’ behaviour in highly concentrated and strongly regulated electricity wholesale markets with rigid demand. In order to accomplish this aim, the analysis was based on the former Spanish electricity generation market, between January 1999 and June 2007, before the MIBEL (Iberian Electricity Market) has started. The analysis is carried out in the theoretical framework of the structural models. The result of the structural model supports the apparently competitive nature of the market analysed for the period 1999 to 2003, despite than fact that the Lerner index average was high during this period. It will therefore be important in future work to analyse whether the high average mark-up verified accords with the CTCs (stranded costs compensation which have the characteristics of contracts for difference) which frame the activities of the electricity producers.electricity market, rigid demand, structural model, market power

Uniform Price Market and Behaviour Pattern: What Does the Iberian Electricity Market Point Out?

The electricity spot markets can be considered as capacity constrained markets (Kreps and Scheinkman, 1983), where market price definition depends on the quantity strategies. In this theoretical framework, the main target of the present paper is to show to what extent a spot market organized like a Uniform Price Auction (UPA) is naturally inclined to develop anti-competitive practices, in particular through quantity strategies. To achieve this objective, multivariable models are defined for each daily demand period of the Iberian electricity market. Each model correlates the hourly market price change and the bid quantities of the two main Iberian producers (Endesa and Iberdrola), for every summer between 2001 and 2004. To apply those models one has to solve the endogeneity problem. This exercise is also useful to highlight any anti-competitive behaviour. Quantities produced by the producers with infra marginal bids should not be endogenous when there is no risk that they will not be dispatched, unless producers have some expectations about the system marginal price. In addition, this kind of endogeneity reinforces the model’s theoretical assumption that change in the system marginal price stems from quantity strategies. The models present some expectable but interesting results. Those results show that even base load units’ bids may depend on expectations about the system marginal price evolution. Those expectations can reflect market strategies. Therefore, in a market where the main companies own base load and peak load units, like the Iberian wholesale electricity market, the UPA is an open window to anti-competitive practices based on quantity strategies, such as the raising of the system marginal price through the capacity withdrawal from base load units.oligopoly, electricity, endogeneity, uniform-price market

Measuring market power in the Iberian electricity wholesale market through the residual demand curve

The existence of market power in the electricity market is a recurrent issue. Measuring and understanding market power practices in the Iberian electricity market turn out to be interesting: though a liberalized market, two integrated firms control 80% of total demand and there is a strong - often direct - intervention of government in the market. For various reasons, among which the difficulty in obtaining reliable, extensive data stands out, market power in the Iberian electricity market has rarely been measured. This work aims to contribute to a better knowledge of the way market power occurs. We calculate the elasticity of residual demand to evaluate the two dominant firm’s market power, using hourly bides in the Spanish spot market for the period July-August 2004 to 2006. Although our approach was highlighted by Frank Wolak work on the electricity sector, we extend it and discuss its constraints. We discuss the results obtained in the light of the evolution of the electricity sector during that period.Market power, wholesale market, residual demand curve elasticity, government intervention

Normalização das referências bibliográficas de acordo com as NP 405-1, NP 405-2, NP 405-3 e NP 405-4

A informação adquiriu nas últimas três décadas um lugar de primazia, existindo uma grande preocupação na elaboração de normas em vista à sua recuperação e disseminação. É neste contexto que cada vez mais se justifica a utilização de critérios uniformes na apresentação de documentos, recorrendo à aplicação de normas nacionais. As Normas portuguesas, NP 405-1, 405-2, 405-3 e 405-4 são normas na área da informação e documentação que definem regras para a normalização das referências bibliográficas de todos os tipos de documentos. Estas normas nacionais estão harmonizadas com a norma internacional ISO 690, elaborada pela International Standardization Organization (ISO) e aprovada pelos países membros desta organização