Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Notes on contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction and overview
- 2 Political economy of the Brazilian power industry reform
- 3 Reform of the Chinese electric power market: economics and institutions
- 4 The political economy of Indian power sector reforms
- 5 The Mexican Electricity Sector: economic, legal and political issues
- 6 The political economy of power sector reform in South Africa
- 7 Major conclusions: the political economy of power sector reform in five developing countries
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - Introduction and overview
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Notes on contributors
- Preface
- 1 Introduction and overview
- 2 Political economy of the Brazilian power industry reform
- 3 Reform of the Chinese electric power market: economics and institutions
- 4 The political economy of Indian power sector reforms
- 5 The Mexican Electricity Sector: economic, legal and political issues
- 6 The political economy of power sector reform in South Africa
- 7 Major conclusions: the political economy of power sector reform in five developing countries
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Over the last three decades a wave of market reform has spread to nearly every aspect of modern economic activity. Reformers have sought to replace state control with private enterprise and market competition in air transportation, telecommunications, banking, ports, railroads, food service, and sundry other activities. Even Russian vodka, for decades a guiding spirit of the planned economy, is today a product of private entrepreneurs rather than solely state enterprise.
Yet markets do not arise or function spontaneously. To deliver on their promise, they require ancillary institutions, such as banks, regulatory agencies and courts that must operate in steadfast but subtle ways. This book is part of a growing literature that seeks to explain how that institutional context affects the origins and operation of markets. Our interest is the political economy of the shift to markets – that is, how political forces interact with institutions to affect how markets function in practice. The perspectives of political economy, we will argue, explain why the real outcomes from attempted market reforms have often diverged sharply from the economist's theoretical ideal.
Infrastructures have proved to be a particularly challenging area for the introduction of market forces. Infrastructures are marked by high capital costs and require long time horizons that can make it especially difficult to attract private investors who are wary of their ability to earn an acceptable return.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Political Economy of Power Sector ReformThe Experiences of Five Major Developing Countries, pp. 1 - 30Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007