Sector-Particular Regulation: Prepaid or ad infinitum?

Under this title the Ifo Institute published a study last spring that examined whether, ten years after the introduction of sector-specific regulation and considerable market successes in telecommunications, the initial goal of a temporary regulation was lost sight of. The study concludes that despite considerable unfolding of competition, the number of employees in most European regulation authorities has continued to increase, regulation procedures have become more complex and new regulatory tasks and areas have been added. In other words, all signs point to an entrenchment of regulation. The study met with strong interest. For this reason we have invited several authors to give their comments. An introduction is provided by Hans Schedl, researcher at the Ifo Institute and co-author of the study.