Regulatory Reform of Public Utilities

Book excerpt: Covering issues such as deregulation, privatization, organizational reforms, and competition policy, Regulatory Reform of Public Utilities provides a comprehensive summary of regulatory reforms in Japanese public utility industries. Fumitoshi Mizutani expertly explores the main regulatory structures and regulatory reforms in eight Japanese public utility industries: electric power, gas utility, water supply, railways, local bus, postal services, telecommunications, and broadcasting. There are also separate chapters on yardstick regulation, universal service obligations, privatization and structural reforms, and private sector involvement Ð all important issues in Japanese regulatory reform. This unique study reveals that regulatory reform in Japan has distinctive features. It seeks to fill the information gap and widen understanding in the international community in relation to the Japanese experience with regulation and reform of public utility industries. This informative book will prove invaluable to postgraduate students, policymakers, and researchers in fields such as regulation, empirical industrial organization, and public policy.