Liberalizing basic telecommunications : the Asian experience

The authors examine the liberalization of the basic telecommunications sector in Asian countries with a view to identifying good policy and determining how multilateral negotiations can promote it. They find that most Asian governments, despite the move away from traditional public monopolies, are still unwilling to allow unrestricted entry, eliminate limits on private and foreign ownership, and establish strong, independent regulators. But where comprehensive reform has been undertaken-including privatization, competition, and regulation-the availability of main lines, the quality of service, and the productivity of labor are significantly higher. Somewhat surprisingly, little unilateral liberalization has occurred since the last round of telecommunications negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The new round therefore faces the challenge of not merely harvesting unilateral liberalization, as in the past, but of negotiating away existing restrictions. Since quantitative restrictions on the number of telecommunications service suppliers are pervasive, deepened GATS rules could help ensure transparent and nondiscriminatory allocation of licenses. There may also be a need to sharpen the regulatory principles established in the last round and to create rules that safeguard not only the rights of foreign suppliers but also those of consumers.Decentralization,ICT Policy and Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,ICT Policy and Strategies,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Knowledge Economy,Education for the Knowledge Economy

Behold the 'Behemoth'. The privatization of Japan Post Bank

This paper analyzes the privatization process of the Japanese Post Bank (JPB), the largest bank in the world. We report some evidence in favour of the "political view" of SOB's and argue that, before privatization, postal savings banks served as vehicles for politicians to reallocate funds in exchange for private rents. We ask why politicians in Japan decided to privatize the postal savings system, predict how the privatization will proceed and study the expected results of the privatization process. We argue that there will be no level playing field in bank competition after the start of the privatization process and discuss possible out-comes of JPB privatization on financial stability in Japan.Public banking, Japan, Privatization, Postal savings banks

"Globalization and Regional Co-operation in South Asia: A Political and Social Economy Approach"

This paper analyzes the problems of regional co-operation in South Asia within a general political and social economy approach towards a "fractured or fragmented globalization". The word globalization, as commonly used, is largely a descriptive and not an analytical category. This paper attempts to give the term analytic content. It then focuses on both the positive and normative analysis of globalization. Trade, environment, finance and gender issues receive special attention. A global governance structure based on transparent principles of both economic efficiency and social justice is shown to be a desirable state of affairs; however, the present fractured process of globalization is more likely to end up in regionalism or even national protectionism and rivalry. Multilateral co-operation on the basis of the framework advanced here is an urgent necessity. For South Asia, such multilateral regional co-operation presents some special difficulties. But the paper argues that these difficulties, while challenging, can be overcome. The preconditions and prospects for building South Asian regional co-operation are discussed and a specific set of recommendations are offered.

Public-private partnerships for the reconstruction of Lebanon : an application to power generation

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 217-220).by Nagi A. Hamiyeh, Rachid A. Mikati.M.S

INVESTING in Agriculturally-Led Growth: The Philippine Case

Much of the debate on the role of agriculture in economic development centers on whether agriculture should be taxed or subsidized. The classical prescription for economic development is investment in industrial modernization financed by an agricultural surplus. Proponents of agricultural development have cautioned, however, that squeezing the agricultural sector will stifle the engine of growth and lead to economic stagnation (e.g., Johnston and Mellor, 1961; Krishna, 1967). Instead, they have advocated the opposite policy of stimulating agricultural development through investment and subsidies to the agricultural sector. The 1980s witnessed a widespread recognition that either taxing or subsidizing agriculture wastes resources and reduces the incentives for investment (see e.g. World Developme~R~et port, 1983 and 1987). This leads to the conundrum that motivates the present paper: how can agricultural development be stimulated without distorting the incentives for efficient resource allocation and investment

Comparative Appraisal of Multilateral and Bilateral Approaches to Financing Private Sector Development in Developing Countries

private sector development, development cooperation, bilateral aid, multilateral aid

Economic Infrastructure and Long Run Economic Growth in Pakistan: A New Insight

The role of economic infrastructure in economic growth and development is given substantial importance in theoretical and empirical literature. In this study, economic infrastructure is disaggregated into transport, communication and power to study its effect on long run economic growth over the period 1971-2014 using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method. In this study we examine the impact of each component of economic infrastructure on long run economic growth and then analyze the impact of sub-indices of transportation and energy, and composite economic infrastructure index on GDP per capita. Results suggest that high roads have negative impact on per capita GDP due to over investment in high roads. However private investment,  energy consumption and electricity consumption positively and significantly impact per capita GDP. Generally transport index, energy index and composite economic infrastructure index has positive effect on GDP per capita. Keywords: Growth, Infrastructure development, Public Capital JEL Classification: E22, H54, H4, O

Microcredit, the corporatization of nongovernmental organizations, and academic activism: The example of Professor Anu Muhammad

Based on an interview with academic-activist Professor Anu Muhammad, this edited transcript illuminates the corporatization of nongovernmental organizations, with specific reference to perpetuating the negative effects of neoliberal microcredit practices in developing countries. It focuses upon how such corporatization is contributing to corruption and the weakened role of the state. The concept of poor-people-led cooperatives is proposed as an alternative as they are more congruent with actively maintaining cultural traditions, protecting social cohesion, and mobilizing collective community-level energy to alleviate misery and reduce poverty