The Reform of Network Industries


Book Description

Network industries such as electricity, gas, rail, local public transport, telecommunications and postal services are recognised by the EU as crucial for fostering European social and territorial cohesion. Providing an overview of key policy reforms in these industries and an empirical evaluation, this thought-provoking book offers a critical perspective on the functioning of the networks that provide vital services to EU citizens.




Deregulation of Network Industries


Book Description

Although the airline, railroad, telecommunications, and electric power industries are at very different stages in adjusting to regulatory reform, each industry faces the same critical public policy question: Are policymakers taking appropriate steps to stimulate competition or are they turning back the clock by slowing the process of deregulation? This volume addresses that issue and identifies the next steps that policymakers should take to enhance public welfare in the provision of these services. Each chapter identifies the central policy issues that have arisen in each industry as it undergoes transformation to a deregulated environment. The authors reveal the flaws in the residual regulations and make the case for faster and more comprehensive deregulation. A concluding chapter identifies how interest groups continue to exert influence on regulatory agencies and on Congress, potentially undermining deregulation. The papers included here were initially presented in December 1999 at a conference sponsored and organized by the AEI–Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies.




Competition and Regulation in Network Industries


Book Description

While particularly dynamic and innovative, the digital and telecommunication industries are found to have a great tendency towards concentration, resulting in strong market power and raising concerns from competition and regulatory authorities. In this study focusing on such network industries, Jean-Marc Zogheib explores the interplay between public policy and firms' strategies by combining various tools of theoretical economic analysis adopted from industrial economics, network economics, and platform economics. Mr. Zogheib's thesis consists of three distinct essays: the first chapter examines how merger policy affects firms' entry strategies, the second chapter shifts the focus to public intervention by considering how the coexistence of private and public players affects competition and investment, while the third chapter investigates the role of privacy in competition between digital platforms and the importance of consumer data in the competitive analysis of mergers. This book clearly illustrates how economics can contribute essential building blocks to the construction of competitive reasoning and how the integration of competition law into economic models extended their collective utility. An important read for lawyers and economists alike. The book was awarded the inaugural Concurrences PhD Award in Economics.




The Routledge Companion to Network Industries


Book Description

In recent decades, network industries around the world have gone through periods of de- and re-regulation. With vast amounts of sometimes conflicting research carried out into specific network industries, the time has come for a critical over-arching assessment of this entire industry in order to provide a platform of understanding to aid future research and practice. This comprehensive resource provides an orientation for academics, policy makers and managers as to the main economic, regulatory and commercial challenges in the network industries. The book is split into sections covering market, policy, regulation, management perspectives, whilst all of the key network industries are covered, including energy, transport, water and telecommunications. Overseen by world-class Editors and experts in the field, this inter-disciplinary resource is essential reading for students and researchers in international business, industrial economics and the industries.




Network Industries and Social Welfare


Book Description

This book offers a careful scrutiny of energy and telephony reforms and their social impact on households in 15 countries across Western Europe. It concludes that the benefits for consumers are limited and it discusses the reasons why the European reform experiment of network industries is not living up to its promises.




The Economics of Network Industries


Book Description

This book introduces upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers to the latest developments in network economics, one of the fastest-growing fields in all industrial organization. Network industries include the Internet, e-mail, telephony, computer hardware and software, music and video players, and service operations in the banking, legal, and airlines industries among many others. The work offers an overview of the subject matter as well as investigations about specific industries. It conveys the essential features of how strategic interactions between firms are affected by network activity, as well as covering social interaction and its influence on consumers' choices of products and services. Virtually no calculus is used in the text, and each chapter ends with a series of exercises and selected references. The text may be used for both one- and two-semester courses.




The New Economy and Beyond


Book Description

Providing a non-technical analysis of the modern macro-economy, the contributors provide their views on the new economy from a variety of perspectives.




The Rise of the New Network Industries


Book Description

Cutting through the confusion around the nature and implications of digitalization, this book explores the rise of the new digital networks, how they affect traditional infrastructure, and how they will eventually need to be regulated. The authors examine how digitalization affects infrastructures in telecommunications, transport, and energy, and how digital platforms establish themselves as a new network on top of and in addition to traditional ones. Complex concepts are introduced through short and colorful stories about the founders of the most popular platforms (Google, Facebook, Skype, Uber, etc.) and how they grew to positions of power, drawing parallels with century-old traditional network industries’ monopoly power (AT&T, General Electric, etc.). The authors argue that these digital platforms strongly interfere with traditional infrastructures that are heavily regulated and provide essential services for society – meaning that digital platforms should be considered as a new and much more powerful type of infrastructure and will require regulation accordingly. A global audience of policy makers, public authorities, consultants, lawyers, students, and academics, as well as anyone with an interest in these digital platforms, will find this book enlightening and essential reading.




Network Industries


Book Description

The unique challenges associated with understanding network industries requires insights from a range of disciplinary perspectives, namely economics, engineering, law, and political science. This book analyzes the de- and re-regulation of the network industries and the regulatory challenges these industries will face in the future. Network industries are characterised by economics that entail limiting effects on competition and market creation, and the book highlights the drivers behind their liberalization as well as the inherent need for regulation as liberalization unfolds. By way of an historical approach, the author offers insights into the distinctive approaches between Europe and North America in the past whilst also presenting the pervasive role digitalization increasingly comes to play. A concise overview of the state of thinking about the network industries, this book will be vital reading for researchers, advanced students and practitioners.




Economies of Network Industries


Book Description

This revealing book examines different types of network industries such as railways, telecommunications and new media, and investigates their economics with an accent on history makes it stand apart from others in the area. Hans Gttinger's accessible writing style and knowledgeable research makes this book recommended reading for all those in