|
on Regulation |
| By: | Stergiou, Paraskevi (Vivian) M. |
| Abstract: | The rise of the sharing economy has generated great regulatory challenges. The European Union (EU) has to perform a fine balancing act. On the one hand, it has to safeguard weaker parties, consumers and workers, ensuring they enjoy fair treatment by adopting proper regulatory responses. On the other hand, since the sharing economy offers innovative solutions to common societal and consumer problems, the EU wishes to tap into its full potential. It is hard to strike the right balance between innovation and regulation. This paper contributes to the hot debate on how to regulate the sharing economy without stifling innovation, by examining reputation systems and their function as self-regulatory mechanisms. Can the EU have the best of both worlds, reputation and innovation, by letting innovative technology, and reputation systems specifically, do the regulatory work? My answer is no. I first take reputation systems seriously by examining how they work and what they may achieve. Reputation systems are based on innovative algorithmic technology and generate trust among strangers. Self-regulation advocates argue that reputation systems are well suited, and in any case better than top down regulatory responses, to help users and society deal with the risks generated by the sharing economy . I then turn to the many and well-established flaws in the design and function of reputation systems. These systems come with clear limitations, and are unable to adequately address the complex regulatory challenges that have followed the sharing economy boom. The EU has to work towards developing innovative regulatory solutions, which allow space for self-regulatory mechanisms but combine them with other regulatory tools. The EU needs to set a "traditional" regulatory framework within which self-regulation can function properly. At the same time rules and regulations should be used to deal with the problems that, by default, cannot be addressed by reputation systems (such as externalities). Such clear cut EU rules must be the outcome of democratic debate. |
| Keywords: | regulation,self-regulation,platform regulation,EU policy challengers,EU responses to technological innovation,sharing economy,European Single Market strategy,technology enabled regulation,consumer protection,European consumer protection law,reputation systems,ratings,consumer harm,Airbnb,Uber,behavioral economics,digital discrimination,reporting bias,European Union law |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ekhdps:320&r=all |
| By: | David BENATIA (CREST (UMR 9194), ENSAE, Institut Polytechnique de Paris); Clémence ALASSEUR (EDF R&D, EDF Lab Paris-Saclay); Olivier FÉRON (EDF R&D, EDF Lab Paris-Saclay) |
| Abstract: | The pandemic's impacts on European electricity markets have been enormous, especially in countries with abundant near-zero marginal cost of production like France. This article provides an in-depth quantitative study of the impacts of the crisis on the French electricity sector. During the lockdown episode, France has experienced unparalleled demand reductions (-12%) and energy price falls (-40%) resulting in revenue losses of 1.2 billion € (-45%) for market participants. This paper argues that the observed market outcomes during the crisis are somehow indicative of outcomes in a future with abundant renewable power, where prices will fall in a more sustainable way. |
| Keywords: | Energy Transition, COVID-19, Demand, Electricity Markets |
| JEL: | L94 Q02 Q41 Q47 |
| Date: | 2020–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crs:wpaper:2020-22&r=all |
| By: | Amelung, Torsten |
| Abstract: | This paper describes the development of the competition of electricity retail in Europe in general and the situation in Germany in particular. The competition in the retail business has been forcing electricity retailers to spend increasing resources on marketing, sales and customer service. This has led to a fierce competition both especially in Germany as price transparency is quite high. Short-term price adjustments by retail companies are led by behavioral patterns that follow the logic of the prisoner’s dilemma. Suppliers view marketing and sales expenditures as a short-term investment, thus weighing costs of winning new customers against the risk that customers might switch again in the medium-run. In order to escape this short-term competitive pressure, an increasing number of retail companies in the German electricity retail market focus on the diversification of their activities by offering new product lines such as distributed energy solutions, services for e-mobility and facility management. Moreover, there is a trend towards investing in the development of a brand to increase customer loyalty. |
| Keywords: | short term competition,second-mover-advantage,product versioning,diversification,distributed energy solutions,brand strategy,digitalization,affiliate marketing |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:224983&r=all |
| By: | Liebich, Lena; Nöh, Lukas; Rutkowski, Felix; Schwarz, Milena |
| Abstract: | The transformation of economies towards significantly reduced CO2 consumption raises high investment and capital requirements. Financial and capital markets can help to mobilize the necessary funds for global investment needs and to steer capital towards sustainable investments. Moreover, potential disruptive impacts of climate change on the financial system have started to become more apparent recently and require central banks, regulators and supervisors to take a conscious look at the risks and opportunities of climate change for financial intermediaries and markets. This article offers a comprehensive discussion on how green finance has been evolving thus far and explores the opportunities and key developments ahead with particular emphasis on four selected highly topical issues: 1) the introduction of German green government bonds, 2) obstacles to the correct pricing of climate-related risks, 3) the EU taxonomy that has recently been put forward to develop a uniform classification of sustainable economic activities as well as 4) the role of central banks in fostering the transition to a low-carbon economy. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:svrwwp:052020&r=all |
| By: | Jaccard, Ivan; Benmir, Ghassane; Vermandel, Gauthier |
| Abstract: | Climate change is one of the biggest economic challenges of our time. Given the scale of the problem, the question of whether a carbon tax should be introduced is hotly debated in policy circles. This paper studies the optimal design of a carbon tax when environmental factors, such as air carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), directly affect agents' marginal utility of consumption. Our first result is that the optimal tax is determined by the shadow price of CO2 emissions. We then use asset pricing theory to estimate this implicit price in the data and find that the optimal tax is pro-cyclical. It is therefore optimal to use the carbon tax to \cool down" the economy during periods of booms and to stimulate it in recessions. The optimal policy not only generates large welfare gains, it also reduces risk premiums and raises the average risk-free real rate. The effect of the tax on asset prices and welfare critically depends on the emission abatement technology. JEL Classification: Q58, G12, E32 |
| Keywords: | bond premium puzzle, climate change, compensation effect, natural rate of interest, optimal policy, welfare |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20202477&r=all |
| By: | Shaheen, Susan PhD; Cohen, Adam; Randolph, Michael; Farrar, Emily; Davis, Richard; Nichols, Aqshems |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2019–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt75s0j7c5&r=all |