Regulatory Reform Privatisation And Competition Policy

The promotion of liberalized and deregulated markets by bilateral and multilateral aid donors, and by global institutions such as the WTO, has led to significant attention being paid to competition and regulatory reforms in developing economies. The process of reform involves the transfer and diffusion of market models derived from practice and theory in developed countries. However, in developing countries, regulation needs to do more than simply promote competitiveness and consumer interests: it also needs to ensure that the market nurtures development. By rigorously examining the numerous impacts of regulation, this book will help to fill a significant gap in the literature on economic and social development. The book, now available in paperback, draws together contributions from leading experts across a range of disciplines including economics, law, politics and governance, public management and business management. The authors begin with an extensive overview of the issues of regulation and competition in developing countries, and carefully illustrate the important themes and concepts involved. Using a variety of country and sector case studies, they move on to focus on the problems of applicability and adaptation that are experienced in the process of transferring best practice policy models from developed to developing countries. The book presents a clear agenda for further empirical research and is notable for its rigorous exploration of the links between theory and practice. Although there is substantial interest in competition and regulation, as yet there has been relatively little investigation of these issues in developing economies. This book redresses the balance and will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics, teachers and students interested in development economics and development studies. It will also be of great relevance for practitioners and policymakers working in the fields of competition policy and regulatory reform.

Throughout the book the authors aim to show how the market can function more efficiently and offer policy recommendations to show how regulatory reform can improve competitiveness at the firm level as well as performance at the industry, national and EU levels.

"Papers presented at the AGP's twelfith meeting in Helsinki in September 1998"--Page 3.

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 1, , language: English, abstract: In the global economy, privatization has become a central issue within economic reforms taking place in developing countries, and it is associated with the neo-liberal model reforms from the 1980's. Developing countries struggle to maintain high standards in public services such as water, energy, telecommunications, transportation, health, education, and, therefore, the adoption of policies to increase the effectiveness are needed. Privatization in theory should help these entities to become more efficient and benefit the majority of the population though, in practice, these objectives are rarely accomplished. The role of competition and regulation in such businesses are essential for development and growth, especially through the injection of private capital and fostering of competition. The principal common factor of these businesses is the natural component of monopolies which, according to Hellwig (2008), represents the use of a fixed network infrastructure that translates into largely sunk costs. Federal reforms aim for the improvement of performance in such important sectors of public services; however much of the research proves that; this has been reasonably unsuccessful in developing countries based on lack of institutional capacity. Even in theory, regulatory framework imported from developed countries was not suitable to the social and economic context in developing countries consequently the application of such previous experiences was not productive. This paper attempts to show that competition and regulation in the privatization process within developing countries could be successful if necessary reforms are based on the country’s economic, social, and political structure. As mentioned, the privatization process, as successfully applied in developed countries, requires significant adjustment for it to be pursued in transitional economies. This paper has been divided into five sections. The first section focuses on the concepts of privatization, competition and regulation. The second analyses how the role of RIA (Regulatory Impact Assessment) could increase privatization efficiency. On the other hand, the third analyses some system utilities and privatization reforms; then how competition could improve the business on privatization. The fourth section provides the control legal framework for businesses to follow. The paper concludes with recommendations and a brief summary and critique of the findings.

The Political Economy of Regulation in Turkey brings together leading international scholars and experts on Turkey and regulatory reform to provide essential information on the recent Turkish experience and its relation to competition policy. After the 1980 liberalization reform, Turkey tried to introduce competition in many industries, but network industries have remained as monopolies. At the end of the 1990s, regulatory reform was initiated and independent regulatory agencies have been established by the government. Comprehensive discussions of these network industries, in particular airlines, electricity, natural gas, telecommunications and environment regulations, are offered. The contributors inquire how economic theory and historical analyses can enlighten the character of market processes and the role for government action in these industries, and the contributions shed light on the very recent changes in the regulatory structure and important legal cases that shape the future of regulated industries. This book discusses these issues in an international perspective and relates the Turkish experience to other similar countries, such as in Eastern Europe and Central America. This book serves as a useful guide to those who want to understand major changes in Turkey and regulatory reforms in other emerging markets, making it of interest to researchers and PhD students concerned with regulatory economics, the Turkish economy, and economic policy in emerging markets.

'The regulatory essays do not focus exclusively on the UK energy industry. There is an excellent review of progress in opening European electricity and gas markets, which hints at further reforms that have occurred since the book was published. There are also fine reviews of regulatory developments and competition policy in telecommunications, railroads, and water supply. In short, there is probably something of interest here for any serious energy professional or student of regulatory economics.' - Jeff Skeer, The Journal of Energy and Development In this book, the latest volume in the annual series published in assocation with the London Business School and the Institute of Economic Affairs, some of the main issues in UK and EU utility regulation and competition policy are discussed. Topics examined include the new electricity and gas trading markets, regulating the railways, introducing competition into water, telecoms and Ofcom, opening EU gas and electricity markets, the 1998 Competition Act, EU merger policy and a general review of privatisation and regulation in Britain. Essays by expert commentators are followed in each case by comments from the relevant regulator.

Regulatory reform had its beginnings in the United States in the 1970s, and today it is taking place around the globe. One of the central questions for industrial policy is how to regulate firms with market power. Regulatory Reform tackles this important policy issue in two parts: it describes an analytical framework for studying the main issues in regulatory reform, and then applies the analysis to the British experience in four utility industries - telecommunications, gas, electricity, and water supply. Britain's utility industries, state-owned monopolies just ten years ago, offer a dramatic example of comprehensive reforms with parallels elsewhere: industries have been restructured, markets have been liberalized, and new regulatory methods and institutions have been created. The authors focus on common policy questions that arise in each industry while taking into account the considerable diversity between the industries and the different reform policies adopted. The analysis and experience in Britain's utility industries also provides a rich variety of issues concerning monopolistic and anticompetitive practices that are of interest for competition policy in general. Regulation of Economic Activity series