The Power to Change

The story of deregulation in general, and that of
the liberalization of the electric power sector in
particular, is rich in paradoxes. This book examines
the European electricity industries and shows that
the liberalization of this sector did not conform to
the traditional theoretical explanations that
privilege economic interests and industry-specific
considerations as the motors for regulatory reform.
Instead, the primary impetus for change came from an
overarching commitment to certain neo-liberal ideas
shared by European intellectual and political
elites. As a fundamentally idea-driven policy,
liberalization was not always coherent with the
stated goals and, with means and ends that were not
always consistent with each other, the reforms were
often hampered and their results ambiguous. By
shedding new light on the processes and rationales
for regulatory reform in this industry, this book
should be of particular interest to professional
analysts of the electricity sector and students of
energy policy, as well as anyone interested in the
role that ideas play in motivating policy choices
and shaping policy outcomes.

Autorentext
Lola Infante holds a BA from the Institut d Etudes Politiques de
Paris, a Master s degree in International Economics and Finance
from the Université de Paris IX-Dauphine, and a Master s degree
and a PhD in International Relations from Johns Hopkins
University. She currently works as an energy economist in
Washington, DC.

Klappentext
The story of deregulation in general, and that of the liberalization of the electric power sector in particular, is rich in paradoxes. This book examines the European electricity industries and shows that the liberalization of this sector did not conform to the traditional theoretical explanations that privilege economic interests and industry-specific considerations as the motors for regulatory reform. Instead, the primary impetus for change came from an overarching commitment to certain neo-liberal ideas shared by European intellectual and political elites. As a fundamentally idea-driven policy, liberalization was not always coherent with the stated goals and, with means and ends that were not always consistent with each other, the reforms were often hampered and their results ambiguous. By shedding new light on the processes and rationales for regulatory reform in this industry, this book should be of particular interest to professional analysts of the electricity sector and students of energy policy, as well as anyone interested in the role that ideas play in motivating policy choices and shaping policy outcomes.