Oligopolistic competition and investment: application to electricity markets.

Summary The liberalization of the electricity sector is a major reform of a key sector of modern economies that began at the end of the 20th century. The establishment of electricity markets and the development of competition raise important practical and theoretical questions about the efficiency of this mode of organization. While in most European countries large investments in generation capacity are needed, the thesis analyzes the investment incentives of generators in situations of imperfect competition. The thesis consists of four chapters grouped in two parts. The first chapter analyzes the problem of choosing a technology mix to satisfy a variable demand by asymmetric firms. The second chapter focuses on the interaction between economies of scale and competition. The third chapter analyzes the intervention of a public firm that invests to compensate for the investment failures of private firms. Finally, the last chapter focuses on emissions trading markets and the links they create between initially isolated markets.