Assessing the regulatory reform for the urban-gas industry in Japan

• Project/Area Number: 15K03466
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Economic policy
• Research Institution: Hosei University
• Principal Investigator: MYOJO Satoshi 法政大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (70455426)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 田中 拓朗 一般財団法人電力中央研究所, 社会経済研究所, 特定主任研究員 (90790296)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
• Keywords: 都市ガス産業 / 規制緩和 / 競争政策 / 太陽光発電 / 補助金 / 公営事業の民営化 / 参入退出 / 公営事業者 / プロビットモデル / 生存時間解析 / TFP

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project focuses on the regulatory reform for the urban-gas industry implemented after 1990 in Japan. We constructed two sets of panel data on the urban-gas companies and the local governments and then evaluated the impact of a series of policy changes on their economic activities and performances. Our empirical analyses include an assessment of the productivity and entry decision of the firms and the privatization of gas sector of the local governments. While our empirical results generally showed a progress of introducing competition in the regulated industry, we also found some future tasks necessary for the competition policies to achieve economic efficiency and transparency of the market.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] ガス事業民営化が自治体財政に与えた影響 (2018)
  • Author(s): 明城聡
  • Journal Title: ガス事業研究会報告書 Volume: - Pages: 127-138
• [Journal Article] Effects of consumer subsidies for renewable energy on industry growth and social welfare: The case of solar photovoltaic systems in Japan (2017)
  • Author(s): Myojo Satoshi and Ohashi Hiroshi
  • Journal Title: Journal of the Japanese and International Economies Volume: 印刷中 Pages: 55-67
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jjie.2017.11.001
  • NAID: 210000170438
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] 都市ガス産業の規制緩和と新規参入の分析 (2017)
  • Author(s): 明城聡、田中拓朗
  • Journal Title: 公益事業研究 Volume: 第69巻第1号 Pages: 1-15
  • NAID: 40021449682
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] 公営ガス事業者の事業譲渡に関する生存時間分析 (2017)
  • Author(s): 明城聡、田中拓朗
  • Journal Title: ガス事業研究会報告書 Volume: なし Pages: 127-140
• [Journal Article] 都市ガス産業の生産性と規制緩和の分析 (2016)
  • Author(s): 明城聡・田中拓朗
  • Journal Title: ガス事業研究会研究報告書（都市エネルギー協会） Volume: - Pages: 127-143
• [Presentation] 都市ガス事業者の地域別参入格差について (2015)
  • Author(s): 明城聡
  • Organizer: 第3回ガス事業研究会
  • Place of Presentation: 東京ガス本社（東京都港区）
  • Year and Date: 2015-11-05