Edward Elgar Publishing International Handbook of Network Industries: The Liberalization of Infrastructure

Product Description In recent decades, all infrastructures have undergone significant restructuring. This worldwide phenomenon is often labelled 'liberalization' and although expectations were high with respect to lower prices, greater efficiency and innovation, the expected gains have not always been fully realized. This extensive, state-of-the-art Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the various experiences of liberalization across different sectors, regions and disciplines. The multidisciplinary approach focuses on the economic, political and institutional aspects of liberalization, as well as to a lesser extent on technological issues. As such, it constitutes a unique contribution as this broad overview is often lost in the sector specific, country-focused and purely disciplinary approaches prevalent in the current literature. Sectors explored include telecoms, the Internet, energy and transport, while the truly global perspective incorporates unique case studies from an array of developed and developing countries including the US, China, India and the EU. The International Handbook of Network Industries will become the definitive volume for academics researchers and students of economics, political science and law interested in infrastructure regulation. It will also prove a valuable guide to practitioners and policy makers involved in liberalization and competition. Review Quite an accomplishment, this Handbook provides by far the most comprehensive overview of the role of the private sector and competition in infrastructure industries, with thoughtful surveys of each of the major infrastructure sectors and of the key regions and countries. --Jose Gomez-Ibanez, Harvard University, US To learn about how economic and institutional forces have shaped the network industries and policies towards them, read the first part of the book. To discover their impacts on particular industries, read the second part. And to find out what has happened in particular countries, read the third part. I think anyone interested in network industries should read all of it! The book's structure allows for many interesting comparisons across countries and sectors. --Richard Green, University of Birmingham, UK This is a very useful and comprehensive guide to reforms in network industries in communications, energy, transport and water. It is organized by generic topic, sector and region. Its authors are acknowledged experts. I am confident that this Handbook will be a widely read and valuable resource for many years. --Martin Cave, London School of Economics, UK About the Author Edited by Matthias Finger,Professor Emeritus, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, Switzerland and Professor, Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ), Turkey and Rolf W. Künneke, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands