Navigating Regulatory Economics Course

Overview

Developed in partnership with Orion, our online Navigating Regulatory Economics course gives you key concepts and tools to use when working in regulated industries. 

Do you need to get to grips with regulatory economics? This short online course provides the key concepts and regulatory frameworks you need to know when working in price-controlled industries and essential infrastructure regulated by the Commerce Commission. It’s designed for executives, managers, finance professionals, and technical leads looking to strengthen their understanding of applied economics and management for regulated industries in Aotearoa New Zealand.

You'll explore the principles and practice of regulatory economics, including efficiency, market failure, monopoly behaviour, and the evolution of Aotearoa’s regulatory framework. Learn to apply practical financial tools such as RAB, WACC, and till models, alongside forms of regulation policy including price caps, incentive regimes, and quality standards.

Over 20 hours of flexible online study, you’ll build core knowledge while examining incentive structures, non-price regulation, and future challenges. By the end of Navigating Regulatory Economics, you’ll be ready to confidently engage with regulators, support strategic planning, and drive efficient, compliant operations.

This course is ideal for

• Finance and commercial managers providing cost evidence to regulators
• Operations and quality managers ensuring standards and compliance
• Compliance and monitoring leads maintaining regulatory alignment
• Reporting and regulatory managers preparing submissions on performance
• Professionals in regulatory affairs, legal, finance, asset management, and customer engagement needing to work with regulation policy
• Strategic planners, engineers, and asset managers predicting costs and justifying expenditure
• This course may also be of interest to Boards and Executives in industries that are or soon will be subject to regulation

What you'll learn

In Navigating Regulatory Economics you'll explore:

• The economic regulatory policy and principles that underpin regulation, including efficiency, market failure, and monopoly behaviour
• The evolution of New Zealand’s regulatory framework and regulation policy, including key legislation, legal cases, and regulatory models
• How to apply regulatory frameworks and financial tools used in regulation — such as RAB, WACC, and till models — to evaluate price control mechanisms and regulatory decision-making
• Different forms of economic regulation, including information disclosure, price caps, incentive regimes, and quality standards, with attention to efficiency, equity, and strategic behaviour
• How to anticipate and respond to emerging challenges in regulated industries and propose adaptive strategies to ensure effective and sustainable regulation in the face of disruption

How it works

Navigating Regulatory Economics is flexible, enabling you to plan your study around your other commitments. You can choose to complete the 20 hours of study when it suits you during the learning period. 

We recommend completing around 5 hours of study per week over 4 weeks, but you'll have 8 weeks to complete all learning.

Course outline

This regulatory economics course is divided into eight modules you'll work your way through over the learning period. Each module includes specific learning objectives, educational content across a range of media, and activities to apply what you've learnt. 

Module 1: Markets, competition and efficiency
Introduces the rationale for regulating markets for economic theory, focusing on efficiency and market failure.

Module 2: Historical evolution of regulation in Aotearoa New Zealand
Traces the development of economic regulation in New Zealand, from government control and regulation policy, to deregulation and key legal milestones.  

Module 3: Foundations of price control and financial capital maintenance
Explores the core economic logic of price control regimes.

Module 4: Technical tools: RAB asset roll-forward, depreciation, tax and WACC
Introduces financial mechanics used in ongoing regulation, including opening asset base, depreciation, tax, and cost of capital calculations for regulated industries.

Module 5: Forms of economic regulation
Examines the different regulatory models available, from light-handed to full price control, and their implications.

Module 6: Incentives, equity, and market tensions
Considers how regulatory design influences firm behaviour, equity of access, and competition.

Module 7: Quality regulation and non-price dimensions
Focuses on how regulators manage safety, service quality, and reliability alongside price.

Module 8: Future challenges in economic regulation
Explores long-term challenges such as loss of market power, technological disruption, and regulatory adaptation.

Assessments  
Instead of assessments, Navigating Regulatory Economics includes a number of learning activities designed to check and confirm your knowledge of regulatory economics. You will have completed the course successfully once all learning modules and online learning activities have been completed.