Economic Regulation

BRG’s regulatory experts offer deep expertise in a wide range of disciplines, combined with hands-on sector experience.

Market developments have introduced competition into several network industries, including telecoms, energy, and posts. Combined with the introduction of ex ante regulatory remedies, competition has in some sectors resulted in extensive price reduction and substantial increases in demand. Considerable capital investment in capacity and infrastructure has often been required where this has occurred.

Competition has had many positive effects for providers and consumers, but over time it has changed market structures from simple to complex and increasingly fluid and dynamic. Governments, authorities, corporations, investors, and law firms rely on rigorous economic analysis to inform decisions or address challenges. However, it is increasingly necessary also to review the underlying assumptions and market models, many of which may no longer be appropriate. Such reviews may result in revisions to the regulatory toolkits and remedies used by regulators. Examples of change include the very different levels of risk providers face now, compared to when liberalization commenced.

Economic regulation is in many cases intended to mimic the constraints of competition in noncompetitive markets, but achieving that is complex. Regulatory decisions and remedies seek to protect consumers and reduce barriers to competition, but in doing so they can make or break businesses and potentially reduce returns on substantial and often risky capital investments.

As a provider in a regulated industry, understanding the potential impact of regulatory interventions is critical. Informing decisions appropriately requires detailed economic, technical, and commercial analysis. Communicating a company’s views and analyses clearly and concisely to stakeholders and to regulators is vital to the interests of the business. The complexity of highly technical analyses and multiple messages from other interested parties, however, can make this hard to achieve.

As a regulator, rapidly changing technologies and consumer preferences, changing economic conditions, and often a shortage of information make it increasingly difficult to perform the necessary detailed analyses to support decision of whether and how to regulate.

BRG’s regulatory experts offer deep expertise in a wide range of disciplines, combined with hands-on sector experience, to ensure the optimal application of technical analyses for prevailing market conditions and the goals to be achieved. Further, our experts and in-house communications specialists have extensive experience addressing stakeholder relationships and communicating complex messages clearly and concisely.

When conflicts and disputes arise—between providers, between providers and regulators, or with competition authorities—our experts provide independent analyses and opinions, bringing knowledge and experience from economic regulation across several sectors and different regulatory models practiced worldwide.

What We Do

BRG offers expertise to regulators, regulated firms, investors, and other stakeholders in performing detailed economic and technical analyses related to the following areas, among others: