Regulation with "20-20 Hindsight": Least-Cost Rules and Variable Costs.

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Industrial Economics
Year: 1992
Volume: 40
Issue: 3
Pages: 277-89

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Regulators sometimes review a regulated firm's input decisions in retrospect (i.e., with "20-20 hindsight") and punish bad outcomes rather than bad decisions. When such practices are applied consistently to contracts for variable factors in a regime with profit regulation, the firm increases its capital stock and relies more heavily on spot market purchases for its variable inputs; the firm's profits are reduced, but welfare effects on consumers are ambiguous. If applied as a type of "stochastic price cap" regulation, however, hindsight review can induce variable input choices that minimize expected costs. Copyright 1992 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:jindec:v:40:y:1992:i:3:p:277-89
Journal Field
Industrial Organization
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25