The regulation and expansion of the gas industry in nineteenth-century France and Spain: a comparative approach.

Abstract

This paper presents the evolution of the regulation of the gas industry in France and Spain during the 19th century. To this end, numerous studies on gas management have been analysed and the evolutionary process of this public service has been examined from a legislative and organisational point of view. This provides an approach to the development of this sector, which in both countries was based on the concession model, where private companies managed the gas lighting service, led by both foreign and national entrepreneurs.