dr.ir. Bert Willems

Bio

I am studying the organization and regulation of energy markets. Several questions are addressed:

• Which regulatory instruments are necessary to obtain a sustainable energy system? How can we organize the market such that we will use the optimal mix of renewable and conventional technologies
• Do energy firms have market power? If abuse of market power is a problem, which steps can the government take to reduce market power? Are standard competition policy rules sufficient or should we rely on sector-specific regulation?
• Will a healthy and competitive energy sector deliver a secure energy supply system? What is the role of the government?

Top publications

1. Optimal regulation of network expansion

   Willems, B., & Zwart, G. (2018). Optimal regulation of network expansion. RAND Journal of Economics, 49(1), 23-42.

2. Relaxing competition through speculation - Committing to a negative s…

   Holmberg, P., & Willems, B. (2015). Relaxing competition through speculation: Committing to a negative supply slope. Journal of Economic Theory, 159(A), 236-266.