摘要：The European Union has introduced directives that aim to liberalize and integrate
electricity and gas markets in Western Europe. While progress has been made,
particularly in electricity markets, there have been setbacks: for example, because of
concerns about national interests and security of supply. Thus it is possible that only part
of the energy industry in Western Europe will be liberalized. We use a numerical model
to assess what types of liberalization – electricity vs. natural gas; domestic markets vs.
international trade – are most influential in decreasing prices and increasing welfare in
Western Europe. We find that a partial liberalization of electricity markets has greater
quantity and welfare effects than a partial liberalization of gas markets, and that
liberalizations of domestic energy markets have (overall) greater effects than
liberalizations of trade in energy between Western European countries. Finally, the shortrun
effects primarily parallel the long-run effects, though they are significantly smaller.
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