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Universal Service (universal + service)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	80%

Selected Abstracts

Regulatory Competition and Accountability: Comparing Universal Service in Telecommunications in Australia and Taiwan,

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2009
Chen-Dong Tso
The recent trend of transforming regulatory bureaus into independent agencies has raised concerns over accountability once the regulator is cut loose from political control. There is also concern that the promotion of public values may be at risk when the regulatory function is outsourced to a mission-limited independent agency. To find possible solutions to these problems, this study compares the provision of telecommunications universal service in Australia with that in Taiwan to determine how different accountability designs lead to different means of ensuring universal service provision. Following a detailed investigation, this article finds that the consumer sovereignty model used in Australia performs better than the fiduciary trusteeship model in Taiwan in constraining the capture of the regulator by the dominant carrier. Overall, the author argues that, as a social goal, ensuring universal service should rely on both a politically mandated institution and competing regulatory agencies that accommodate different value groups so that a line is drawn between the social and commercial spheres. [source]

A tale of two cities: restoring water services in Kabul and Monrovia

DISASTERS, Issue 4 2009
Jean-François Pinera
Kabul and Monrovia, the respective capitals of Afghanistan and Liberia, have recently emerged from long-lasting armed conflicts. In both cities, a large number of organisations took part in emergency water supply provision and later in the rehabilitation of water systems. Based on field research, this paper establishes a parallel between the operations carried out in the two settings, highlighting similarities and analysing the two most common strategies. The first strategy involves international financial institutions, which fund large-scale projects focusing on infrastructural rehabilitation and on the institutional development of the water utility, sometimes envisaging private-sector participation. The second strategy involves humanitarian agencies, which run community-based projects, in most cases independently of the water utilities, and targeting low-income areas. Neither of these approaches manages to combine sustainability and universal service. The paper assesses their respective strengths and weaknesses and suggests ways of improving the quality of assistance provided. [source]

LIBERALIZATION OF EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS: SECTORAL DYNAMICS AND STRUCTURAL MUTATIONS

ANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2007
Philippe BANCE
ABSTRACT,:,This contribution intends to draw up an assessment of structural changes in the telecommunications sector impelled by the European policy of liberalization. Deep transformations with contrasted results have occurred. A strong differentiation in offer of services and a considerable fall in cost appears. After a strong growth, however, investment sharply decreased with the financial crisis. Employment has become a variable of adjustment for companies subjected to strong risks due to the economic situation. Lastly, the assertion of the universal service of telecommunications is accompanied by an important reduction of public service missions. [source]