Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America

The role of the state changed in Latin American and Caribbean countries between 1985 and 1995 as eight regulatory commissions were created (for the 19 countries in our regional sample). This institutional innovation was part of the liberalization process that has permeated the hemisphere. This study...

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Tipo de recurso:
Fecha de publicación:
2000
Institución:
Universidad del Rosario
Repositorio:
Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
Idioma:
eng
OAI Identifier:
oai:repository.urosario.edu.co:10336/27026
Acceso en línea:
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-5961(00)00069-0
https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/27026
Palabra clave:
Latin America
Caribbean
Liberalization
Telecom investment
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oai_identifier_str oai:repository.urosario.edu.co:10336/27026
network_acronym_str EDOCUR2
network_name_str Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
repository_id_str
spelling 86705966003f83bcc9-86e2-4973-88f4-f668a643a3f42020-08-19T14:40:47Z2020-08-19T14:40:47Z2000-11The role of the state changed in Latin American and Caribbean countries between 1985 and 1995 as eight regulatory commissions were created (for the 19 countries in our regional sample). This institutional innovation was part of the liberalization process that has permeated the hemisphere. This study examines the determinants of telephone lines per capita, using economic, institutional and regulatory variables. Lacking information on total investment, we use lines as a proxy for telecommunications investment. The economic variables have the expected impacts. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita affects investment in a positive way: telecommunications services are income-elastic. Openness (exports plus imports as a percentage of GDP) captures significant external links which require telecommunications to coordinate the production and delivery of goods and services. This variable had a positive (but not statistically significant) impact. Similarly, greater population density was a significant determinant of lines per capita for this particular sample of countries (reflecting lower cost of service for urban areas). Building on the work of Levy and Spiller (Regulations, Institutions, and Commitment: Comparative Studies of Telecommunications, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1996), we introduce institutional indices to capture the effects of political democracy, economic freedom, and a sound regulatory framework. The latter captures the degree of independence of the regulatory body, enforcement powers, neutrality, and mechanisms for resolving conflicts. It might be viewed as a proxy for serious reform initiatives (including reduction of entry barriers and privatization). The regulatory framework and freedom factors have significant positive impacts on telephone lines per capita. Another important explanatory variable is the number of cellular phones per capita. The positive impact is consistent with cellular being a complement for fixed line telephony. Alternatively, the positive impact could reflect a “competition effect” whereby competitive entrants in a liberalized sector stimulate improved performance (and additional investment) by incumbent wire-line firms.application/pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-5961(00)00069-0ISSN: 0308-5961EISSN: 1879-3258https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/27026engElsevier884No. 10-11865Telecommunications PolicyVol. 24Telecommunications Policy, ISSN: 0308-5961;EISSN: 1879-3258, Vol.24, No.10-11 (2000); pp. 865-884https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308596100000690Restringido (Acceso a grupos específicos)http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ecTelecommunications Policyinstname:Universidad del Rosarioreponame:Repositorio Institucional EdocURLatin AmericaCaribbeanLiberalizationTelecom investmentTelecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin AmericaLiberalización de las telecomunicaciones y gobernanza regulatoria: lecciones de América LatinaarticleArtículohttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Gutiérrez Ramírez, Luis HernandoBerg, Sanford10336/27026oai:repository.urosario.edu.co:10336/270262021-09-02 06:17:56.088https://repository.urosario.edu.coRepositorio institucional EdocURedocur@urosario.edu.co
dc.title.spa.fl_str_mv Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America
dc.title.TranslatedTitle.spa.fl_str_mv Liberalización de las telecomunicaciones y gobernanza regulatoria: lecciones de América Latina
title Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America
spellingShingle Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America
Latin America
Caribbean
Liberalization
Telecom investment
title_short Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America
title_full Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America
title_fullStr Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America
title_full_unstemmed Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America
title_sort Telecommunications liberalization and regulatory governance: lessons from Latin America
dc.subject.keyword.spa.fl_str_mv Latin America
Caribbean
Liberalization
Telecom investment
topic Latin America
Caribbean
Liberalization
Telecom investment
description The role of the state changed in Latin American and Caribbean countries between 1985 and 1995 as eight regulatory commissions were created (for the 19 countries in our regional sample). This institutional innovation was part of the liberalization process that has permeated the hemisphere. This study examines the determinants of telephone lines per capita, using economic, institutional and regulatory variables. Lacking information on total investment, we use lines as a proxy for telecommunications investment. The economic variables have the expected impacts. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita affects investment in a positive way: telecommunications services are income-elastic. Openness (exports plus imports as a percentage of GDP) captures significant external links which require telecommunications to coordinate the production and delivery of goods and services. This variable had a positive (but not statistically significant) impact. Similarly, greater population density was a significant determinant of lines per capita for this particular sample of countries (reflecting lower cost of service for urban areas). Building on the work of Levy and Spiller (Regulations, Institutions, and Commitment: Comparative Studies of Telecommunications, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1996), we introduce institutional indices to capture the effects of political democracy, economic freedom, and a sound regulatory framework. The latter captures the degree of independence of the regulatory body, enforcement powers, neutrality, and mechanisms for resolving conflicts. It might be viewed as a proxy for serious reform initiatives (including reduction of entry barriers and privatization). The regulatory framework and freedom factors have significant positive impacts on telephone lines per capita. Another important explanatory variable is the number of cellular phones per capita. The positive impact is consistent with cellular being a complement for fixed line telephony. Alternatively, the positive impact could reflect a “competition effect” whereby competitive entrants in a liberalized sector stimulate improved performance (and additional investment) by incumbent wire-line firms.
publishDate 2000
dc.date.created.spa.fl_str_mv 2000-11
dc.date.accessioned.none.fl_str_mv 2020-08-19T14:40:47Z
dc.date.available.none.fl_str_mv 2020-08-19T14:40:47Z
dc.type.eng.fl_str_mv article
dc.type.coarversion.fl_str_mv http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.coar.fl_str_mv http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
dc.type.spa.spa.fl_str_mv Artículo
dc.identifier.doi.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-5961(00)00069-0
dc.identifier.issn.none.fl_str_mv ISSN: 0308-5961
EISSN: 1879-3258
dc.identifier.uri.none.fl_str_mv https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/27026
url https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-5961(00)00069-0
https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/27026
identifier_str_mv ISSN: 0308-5961
EISSN: 1879-3258
dc.language.iso.spa.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.citationEndPage.none.fl_str_mv 884
dc.relation.citationIssue.none.fl_str_mv No. 10-11
dc.relation.citationStartPage.none.fl_str_mv 865
dc.relation.citationTitle.none.fl_str_mv Telecommunications Policy
dc.relation.citationVolume.none.fl_str_mv Vol. 24
dc.relation.ispartof.spa.fl_str_mv Telecommunications Policy, ISSN: 0308-5961;EISSN: 1879-3258, Vol.24, No.10-11 (2000); pp. 865-884
dc.relation.uri.spa.fl_str_mv https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308596100000690
dc.rights.coar.fl_str_mv http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec
dc.rights.acceso.spa.fl_str_mv Restringido (Acceso a grupos específicos)
rights_invalid_str_mv Restringido (Acceso a grupos específicos)
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec
dc.format.mimetype.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.spa.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.spa.fl_str_mv Telecommunications Policy
institution Universidad del Rosario
dc.source.instname.none.fl_str_mv instname:Universidad del Rosario
dc.source.reponame.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositorio Institucional EdocUR
repository.name.fl_str_mv Repositorio institucional EdocUR
repository.mail.fl_str_mv edocur@urosario.edu.co
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