Associations` Agreement and the Interest of the Network Suppliers - The Strategic Use of Structural Features

The EU electricity directive (96/92/EC) established the right of the member states to choose between Regulated and Negotiated Third Party Access (RTPA and NTPA). The interest group theory is able to explain whether the introduction of NTPA in Germany had been an interest group equilibrium under the restriction of EU-directive. Using the NTPA associations of electricity power suppliers, network monopolists and industrial consumers negotiated three agreements. The last one (AA VVII+) in December 2001 introduced a market comparison scheme with three structural features: “East-/West-Germany”, “consumption/population density”, and “cable rate”. These features are variables which are supposed to reflect cost differences between network suppliers. The theoretical analysis will derive the hypothesis that this conception allows to introduce a cost irrelevant factor and therefore to increase prices without harming firms which do not hold this factor. This hypothesis could be tested by analyzing the German low and medium voltage network suppliers in 2002 and 2003. Our estimations show that the use of structural feature “East-/West Germany” and “consumption/population density” could be explained by this hypothesis. But because we have no firm specific information about cost differences other explanations could not be excluded: Monopoly prices differ with marginal costs, and regulation could reflect real cost differences. The third structural feature “cable rate” has no influence in low voltage networks, but has an impact on access charges levied in medium voltage networks. This relationship is only given if we use the borderlines given by AA VVII+. Hence, we are not able to reject the interest group theory: The feature “cable rate” was introduced successfully to increase access charges for medium network suppliers which have high cable rates without having higher costs.deregulation, natural monopoly, interest groups

Microeconomic Consequences of Exemptions from Value Added Taxation – The Case of Deutsche Post

The exemption for Value Added Taxation (VAT) can be used to pursue distributive objectives. Goods like food, housing, medicine, or infrastructure services (water, telecommunication, postal) are very often partially or totally exempted from VAT. The exemption of infrastructure services had been frequently combined with market entry restrictions. Both instruments should assure the fulfilling of the universal service obligation (USO). VAT-exemption leads to two problems, at least: (i) the expectable financial gain, which can be achieved by the exempted firm, is unpredictable, and (ii) the welfare consequences depend on the prevailing type of market structure (competition, monopoly with or without price discrimination, or dominant firm). The VAT-exemption for German postal services can be seen as an outstanding case study to show the typical consequences. Because of empirical references for intensive use of price discrimination by Deutsche Post AG and strong arguments of Deutsche Post AG as a dominant firm welfare could be increased by abolishing VAT-exemption without abandoning USO.

Model-independent calculation of SU(3)fSU(3)_f violation in baryon octet light-cone distribution amplitudes

In this work we present a minimal parametrization of the light-cone distribution amplitudes of the baryon octet including higher twist contributions. Simultaneously we obtain the quark mass dependence of the amplitudes at leading one-loop accuracy by the use of three-flavor baryon chiral perturbation theory (BChPT), which automatically yields model-independent results for the leading $SU(3)$ flavor breaking effects. For that purpose we have constructed the nonlocal light-cone three-quark operators in terms of baryon octet and meson fields and have carried out a next-to-leading order BChPT calculation. We were able to find a minimal set of distribution amplitudes (DAs) that do not mix under chiral extrapolation towards the physical point and naturally embed the $\Lambda$ baryon. Additionally they are chosen in such a way that all DAs of a certain symmetry class have a similar quark mass dependence (independent of the twist of the corresponding amplitude), which allows for a compact presentation. The results are well-suited for the extrapolation of lattice data and for model building.Comment: We have updated the text to match the version published in JHE

A semidefinite program for unbalanced multisection in the stochastic block model

We propose a semidefinite programming (SDP) algorithm for community detection in the stochastic block model, a popular model for networks with latent community structure. We prove that our algorithm achieves exact recovery of the latent communities, up to the information-theoretic limits determined by Abbe and Sandon (2015). Our result extends prior SDP approaches by allowing for many communities of different sizes. By virtue of a semidefinite approach, our algorithms succeed against a semirandom variant of the stochastic block model, guaranteeing a form of robustness and generalization. We further explore how semirandom models can lend insight into both the strengths and limitations of SDPs in this setting.Comment: 29 page

The Difficulty to Behave as a (regulated) Natural Monopolist – The Dynamics of Electricity Network Access Charges in Germany 2002 to 2005

Reviewing the development of network access charges in the German electricity market since 2002 reveals significant variation. While some firms continually increased or decreased their access charges, a variety of firms exhibited discontinuousn behavior with price changes in both directions. From an economic viewpoint this price setting turbulence is astonishing because grid operators are non-contestable natural monopolists, which in this time period were regulated by Negotiated Third Party Access (NTPA). Depending on the eectiveness or ineectiveness of NTPA,expected behavior would be either regulated average cost prices or monopoly prices, but not the observed turbulence. Although in 2005 NTPA scheme was replaced by a Regulated Third Party Access (RTPA) scheme with a regulator, an analysis of the factors influencing the price setting behavior within this period oers valuable information for the new regulator and the still discussed new incentive regulation, which is expected to start in 2009. Using multivariate estimations based on firm data covering the years 2000-2005, we test the hypotheses that asymmetric influence of regulatory threat, dierent cost and price calculation knowledge, strategic use of structural features and the obligation to publish specific access charges have influenced the electricity network access charges in Germany.Keywords: deregulation, natural monopoly, power industry

Is the Market Classification of Risk Always Efficient? - Evidence from German Third Party Motor Insurance

The efficiency of market-determined risk classification in automobile insurance is a lasting matter of controversy. It can be traced back to the 1950s (Muir, 1957) and received broad economic attention in the 1980s when spiralling car insurance premiums in the US were blamed on tariff regulations prohibiting the use of sex, age and location as risk characteristics (Blackmon/ Zeckhauser 1991, Cummins/ Tennyson 1992, Harrington/ Doerpinghaus 1993). In a mirroring move the EU saw a heated political and legal debate on the use of special tariffs for foreigners, in the 1980s, which resulted in a legal ban of ‘discriminatory’ tariffs for mandatory insurance schemes in many European countries. The latest blow against risk classification in car insurance comes with the EU Employment and Social Affairs’ draft directive on gender equality which proposes to prohibit gender specific calculation of all private insurance products, including non-mandatory branches such as life, private health or comprehensive car insurance.