Title: Regulation and competition policy in the ICT sector : essays in industrial organization
Abstract:This thesis approaches several distinctive features of regulation and competition policy in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. It tackles some issues in ex-ante regulation on ...This thesis approaches several distinctive features of regulation and competition policy in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. It tackles some issues in ex-ante regulation on investment in new fixed telecommunications network infrastructures, and the application of margin squeeze tests by European regulatory authorities in the telecommunications industry. It also analyzes issues related to ex-post competition policy, such as the impact of bundling products with switching costs, or the competition authorities' investigations in the electronic book market. Further analysis on the impact of ex-ante regulation on ex-post competition policy is provided, in particular via studies on the definition of a margin squeeze conduct in network industries, and how competition authorities deal with it. Finally, this thesis evaluates several advantages and weaknesses of both ex-ante regulatory authorities' and ex-post competition authorities' interventions.Read More