Abstract

Some authors claim that the rise of the regulatory State has confined public utilities regulation to the maximisation of economic efficiency. Other scholars contend that concerns for social goals have persistently come along with economic goals in liberalised utilities regulation. A third position tries to override the conflict by positing that we are witnessing the rise of a "second wave" regulatory State, showing an increasing focus for market distorting and pro-societal regulation rather than market making and efficiency maximization. This paper adds to the empirical work against which these claims can be assessed using the case study of Italian electricity liberalisation.