IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jlawec/doi10.1086-661196.html

Regulation and Investment in Network Industries: Evidence from European Telecoms

Author

Listed:
  • Michał Grajek
  • Lars-Hendrik Röller

Abstract

We provide evidence of an inherent trade-off between access regulation and investment incentives in telecommunications by using a comprehensive data set covering more than 70 fixed-line operators in 20 countries over 10 years. Our econometric model accommodates different investment incentives for incumbents and entrants, a strategic interaction of entrants' and incumbents' investments, and endogenous regulation. We find access regulation to have a negative effect on both total industry and individual carrier investment. Thus, promoting market entry by means of regulated access undermines incentives to invest in facilities-based competition. Moreover, we find evidence of a regulatory commitment problem: higher investments by incumbents encourage regulated access provision.

Suggested Citation

  • Michał Grajek & Lars-Hendrik Röller, 2012. "Regulation and Investment in Network Industries: Evidence from European Telecoms," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 55(1), pages 189-216.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:doi:10.1086/661196
    DOI: 10.1086/661196
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/661196
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/661196
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/661196?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or

    for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bourreau, Marc & Dogan, Pinar, 2005. "Unbundling the local loop," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 173-199, January.
    2. Rosston Gregory L. & Noll Roger G., 2002. "The Economics of the Supreme Court's Decision On Forward Looking Costs," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 1(2), pages 1-9, September.
    3. Chang, Hsihui & Koski, Heli & Majumdar, Sumit K., 0. "Regulation and investment behaviour in the telecommunications sector: policies and patterns in US and Europe," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(10-11), pages 677-699, November.
    4. Sibley, David S. & Weisman, Dennis L., 1998. "Raising rivals' costs: The entry of an upstream monopolist into downstream markets," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 451-470, December.
    5. de Bijl, Paul W.J. & Peitz, Martin, 2005. "Local Loop Unbundling in Europe: Experience, Prospects and Policy Challenges," MPRA Paper 2441, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Li, Wei & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2004. "The Impact of Privatization and Competition in the Telecommunications Sector around the World," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 47(2), pages 395-430, October.
    7. David M. Newbery, 2002. "Privatization, Restructuring, and Regulation of Network Utilities," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262640481, December.
    8. Rey, Patrick & Tirole, Jean, 2007. "A Primer on Foreclosure," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 33, pages 2145-2220, Elsevier.
    9. David Sappington, 2006. "Regulation in Vertically-Related Industries: Myths, Facts, and Policy," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 28(1), pages 3-16, February.
    10. Katz, Michael L & Shapiro, Carl, 1987. "R&D Rivalry with Licensing or Imitation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(3), pages 402-420, June.
    11. Drew Fudenberg & Jean Tirole, 1985. "Preemption and Rent Equalization in the Adoption of New Technology," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(3), pages 383-401.
    12. Alberto Alesina & Silvia Ardagna & Giuseppe Nicoletti & Fabio Schiantarelli, 2005. "Regulation And Investment," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(4), pages 791-825, June.
    13. Jerry A. Hausman & J. Gregory Sidak, 2005. "Did Mandatory Unbundling Achieve Its Purpose? Empirical Evidence from Five Countries," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 173-245.
    14. Graeme Guthrie, 2006. "Regulating Infrastructure: The Impact on Risk and Investment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(4), pages 925-972, December.
    15. Crandall Robert W. & Ingraham Allan T & Singer Hal J, 2004. "Do Unbundling Policies Discourage CLEC Facilities-Based Investment," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-25, June.
    16. Duso, Tomaso & Roller, Lars-Hendrik, 2003. "Endogenous deregulation: evidence from OECD countries," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 67-71, October.
    17. Xavier Freixas & Roger Guesnerie & Jean Tirole, 1985. "Planning under Incomplete Information and the Ratchet Effect," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(2), pages 173-191.
    18. Cambini, Carlo & Jiang, Yanyan, 0. "Broadband investment and regulation: A literature review," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10-11), pages 559-574, November.
    19. Gans, Joshua S, 2001. "Regulating Private Infrastructure Investment: Optimal Pricing for Access to Essential Facilities," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 167-189, September.
    20. Bruno, Giovanni S.F., 2005. "Approximating the bias of the LSDV estimator for dynamic unbalanced panel data models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 361-366, June.
    21. Ingo Vogelsang, 2003. "Price Regulation of Access to Telecommunications Networks," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(3), pages 830-862, September.
    22. Woroch, Glenn A, 1998. "Facilities Competition and Local Network Investment: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 7(4), pages 601-614, December.
    23. Martin Hellwig, 2008. "Competition Policy and Sector-Specific Regulation for Network Industries," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics 2008_29, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics.
    24. Kotakorpi, Kaisa, 2006. "Access price regulation, investment and entry in telecommunications," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 1013-1020, September.
    25. Armstrong, Mark & Doyle, Chris & Vickers, John, 1996. "The Access Pricing Problem: A Synthesis," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 131-150, June.
    26. Robert W. Crandall & Leonard Waverman, 2006. "The Failure Of Competitive Entry Into Fixed-Line Telecommunications: Who Is At Fault?," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 2(1), pages 113-148.
    27. Foros, Oystein, 2004. "Strategic investments with spillovers, vertical integration and foreclosure in the broadband access market," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 1-24, January.
    28. Graeme Guthrie, 2006. "Regulating Infrastructure: The Impact on Risk and Investment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 44(4), pages 925-972, December.
    29. David E. M Sappington, 2005. "On the Irrelevance of Input Prices for Make-or-Buy Decisions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(5), pages 1631-1638, December.
    30. Cave, Martin & Vogelsang, Ingo, 0. "How access pricing and entry interact," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(10-11), pages 717-727, November.
    31. Baake, Pio & Kamecke, Ulrich & Wey, Christian, 2005. "A Regulatory Framework for New and Emerging Markets," MPRA Paper 2518, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    32. Judson, Ruth A. & Owen, Ann L., 1999. "Estimating dynamic panel data models: a guide for macroeconomists," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 9-15, October.
    33. Jerry A. Hausman, 1997. "Valuing the Effect of Regulation on New Services in Telecommunications," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 28(1997 Micr), pages 1-54.
    34. Pindyck Robert S., 2007. "Mandatory Unbundling and Irreversible Investment in Telecom Networks," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 6(3), pages 1-25, September.
    35. Valletti, Tommaso M., 0. "The theory of access pricing and its linkage with investment incentives," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(10-11), pages 659-675, November.
    36. Kiviet, Jan F., 1995. "On bias, inconsistency, and efficiency of various estimators in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 53-78, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Inderst, Roman & Peitz, Martin, 2011. "Netzzugang, Wettbewerb und Investitionen," ZEW Discussion Papers 11-025, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Inderst, Roman & Peitz, Martin, 2012. "Network investment, access and competition," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 407-418.
    3. Keizo Mizuno & Ichiro Yoshino, 2015. "Overusing a bypass under cost-based access regulation: underinvestment with spillovers," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 29-57, February.
    4. Inderst, Roman & Kühling, Jürgen & Neumann, Karl-Heinz & Peitz, Martin, 2010. "Investitionen, Wettbewerb und Netzzugang bei NGA: Ergebnisse einer Studie im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Technologie," WIK Discussion Papers 344, WIK Wissenschaftliches Institut für Infrastruktur und Kommunikationsdienste GmbH.
    5. Dogan, Pinar & Bourreau, Marc & Manant, Matthieu, 2010. "A Critical Review of the “Ladder of Investment†Approach," Scholarly Articles 4777447, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    6. Flacher, David & Jennequin, Hugues, 2014. "Access regulation and geographic deployment of a new generation infrastructure," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 741-759.
    7. Briglauer, Wolfgang & Gugler, Klaus & Haxhimusa, Adhurim, 2016. "Facility- and service-based competition and investment in fixed broadband networks: Lessons from a decade of access regulations in the European Union member states," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 729-742.
    8. Maya Bacache & Marc Bourreau & Germain Gaudin, 2014. "Dynamic Entry and Investment in New Infrastructures: Empirical Evidence from the Fixed Broadband Industry," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 44(2), pages 179-209, March.
    9. Avenali, Alessandro & Matteucci, Giorgio & Reverberi, Pierfrancesco, 2010. "Dynamic access pricing and investment in alternative infrastructures," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 167-175, March.
    10. Nitsche, Rainer & Wiethaus, Lars, 2011. "Access regulation and investment in next generation networks -- A ranking of regulatory regimes," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 263-272, March.
    11. Ingo Vogelsang, 2012. "Incentive Regulation, Investments and Technological Change," Chapters, in: Gerald R. Faulhaber & Gary Madden & Jeffrey Petchey (ed.), Regulation and the Performance of Communication and Information Networks, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Garrone, Paola & Zaccagnino, Michele, 2015. "Seeking the links between competition and telecommunications investments," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 388-405.
    13. Armstrong, Mark & Sappington, David E.M., 2007. "Recent Developments in the Theory of Regulation," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 27, pages 1557-1700, Elsevier.
    14. João Vareda, 2007. "Unbundling and Incumbent Investment in Quality Upgrades and Cost Reduction," Working Papers 31, Portuguese Competition Authority.
    15. Brito, Duarte & Pereira, Pedro & Vareda, João, 2010. "Can two-part tariffs promote efficient investment on next generation networks?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 323-333, May.
    16. Romain Lestage & David Flacher, 2011. "Access Regulation and Welfare," TEMEP Discussion Papers 201185, Seoul National University; Technology Management, Economics, and Policy Program (TEMEP), revised Dec 2011.
    17. Marc Bourreau & Joeffrey Drouard, 2014. "Progressive entry and the incentives to invest in alternative infrastructures," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 329-351, June.
    18. Carlo Cambini and Virginia Silvestri, 2012. "Technology Investment and Alternative Regulatory Regimes with Demand Uncertainty," RSCAS Working Papers 2012/15, European University Institute.
    19. Bourreau, Marc & Cambini, Carlo & Doğan, Pınar, 2012. "Access pricing, competition, and incentives to migrate from “old” to “new” technology," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 713-723.
    20. João Vareda, 2011. "Quality upgrades and bypass under mandatory access," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 177-197, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • L59 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Other
    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:doi:10.1086/661196. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JLE .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.