Ringing in the 20th Century : The Effects of State Monopolies, Private Ownership, and Operating Licenses on Telecommunications in Europe, 1892-1914
Countries around the world are liberalizing their telecommunications networks by privatizing incumbent state-owned firms and introducing competition. For many, this change represents a return to private provision and competition-not a new phenomeno...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/10/1620926/ringing-20th-century-effects-state-monopolies-private-ownership-operating-licenses-telecommunications-europe-1892-1914 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19533 |
| Summary: | Countries around the world are
liberalizing their telecommunications networks by
privatizing incumbent state-owned firms and introducing
competition. For many, this change represents a return to
private provision and competition-not a new phenomenon. The
beginning of the 20th century saw great variation in the
structure of telecommunications sectors, with some countries
operating state monopolies and others-especially in
Scandinavia-allowing vigorous private competition. The
author uses data on countries around the world in 1913 and
on European countries in 1892-1914 to test the effects of
government monopolies, private provision, and operating
licenses on telephone development. Controlling for per
capita income and, where possible, for country and year
fixed effects, he finds that state monopoly provision is
correlated with substantially lower telephone penetration
and higher consumer prices for long-distance service than
private provision. Contrary to conventional wisdom, rural
service was also worse under state-owned monopolies.
Operating licenses that gave the state the right to
appropriate firms' assets similarly led to lower
telephone penetration and higher prices. |
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