Journal of Economic Literature

Book Reviews

2026-09-01

Catherine D. Wolfram of University of California, Berkeley reviews “The Unsustainable Costs of Partial Deregulation” by Paul W. MacAvoy,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Assesses the results of deregulation in the United States over the last thirty years and analyzes whether deregulation has achieved any of its stated goals in the electricity, gas delivery, and telecommunications industries. Discusses an introduction to network technology and market structure; the regulation of networks; electric and gas network performance and partial deregulation; the strategic response of Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation to partial deregulation during the California power crisis; the long distance telephone networks and partial deregulation; and the singular result of partial deregulation and what can be done. MacAvoy is Williams Brothers Professor Emeritus of Management Studies at Yale University. Bibliography; index.”

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DOI https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.46.4.989.r14