اصلاح ساختار صنعت برق در كشورهاي خارجي تجربيات در آرژانتين استراليا و انگلستان

Impacts of ESI_.Reform in Australia:A Review of Methodological Framework

The reform of the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) in Australia is an integral element of the wider economic reform agenda of the Australian governments. Such reform, it is claimed, by its supporters, will improve the productive efficiency of the electricity industry, result in lower prices for electricity, and contribute to accelerate the overall growth of the economy. This contention is based on the results of a set of empirical studies, conducted by different research groups over the past decade, focusing on assessing potential gains from ESI reform. The main methodological framework for these studies essentially follows -a two-stage approach. The first stage measures reform-induced gains in the productive efficiency of the ESI, typically employing advanced analytical techniques such as the Index Analysis (IA), Data Envelope Analysis (DEA), and Stochastic Frontier Approach (SPA). These productivity gains are then - in the second stage - used to assess macroeconomic impacts, generally in a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) framework. This paper provides an overview of these studies and argues that this framework is inadequate for developing a realistic appreciation for the wider impacts of ESI reform.