Regulations, Institutions, and Commitment

Regulations, Institutions, and Commitment PDF

Author: Brian Levy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1996-08-28

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 9780521559966

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Currently, privatization and regulatory reform are often viewed as the solution to the problem of poor performance by telecommunications and other public utilities. This volume argues that these high expectations may not always be met because of the way a country's institutions and systems interact.

The Institutional Foundations of Regulatory Commitment

The Institutional Foundations of Regulatory Commitment PDF

Author: Brian Levy

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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In this paper we look, comparatively, at the problem of utilities regulation through the lens of transcation cost economics to analyze the determinants of performance of privatized utilities in different political and social circumstances. We explore how political institutions interact with regulatory processes and economic conditions in exacerbating or ameliorating the economic performance of the sector. We find that performance can be satisfactory with a wide range of regulatory procedures, insofar as three complementary mechanisms restraining arbitrary administrative action are in place: a) substantive restraints on the discretion of the regulator; b) formal or informal constaints on changing the regulatory system; and c) institutions that enforce the above formal constraints. We find that regulatory credibility can be developed in not very propitious environments, that without such commitment long-term investment will not take place, that achieving such commitment may require inflexible regulatory regimes, that in some cases public ownership of utilities is the default mode of organization, and furthermore, that it may be the only feasible alternative.

Regulations, Institutions, and Commitment

Regulations, Institutions, and Commitment PDF

Author: Brian Levy

Publisher:

Published: 1996-08-28

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13:

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The book assesses the impact of core political and social institutions on regulatory structures and performance in the telecommunications industry in Jamaica, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, and the Philippines. These core institutions are shown to influence strongly the credibility and effectiveness of regulation, and thus its ability to encourage private investment and support efficiency. Currently, privatization and regulatory reform are often viewed as the solution to the problem of poor performance by telecommunications and other public utilities. This volume argues that these high expectations may not always be met because of the way a country's political and social institutions - its executive, legislative and judicial systems, its informal norms of public behaviour - interact with regulatory processes and economic conditions. In some environments, regulatory solutions run counter to the prevailing wisdom: achieving credible commitment may require an inflexible regulatory regime, and sometimes public ownership of utilities may be the only feasible alternative.

Regulation, Institutions and Commitment

Regulation, Institutions and Commitment PDF

Author: Pablo Tomas Spiller

Publisher:

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 78

ISBN-13:

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In the past decade the United Kingdom has emerged as a pacesetter for institutional change in the telecommunications sector. Investment in the sector has jumped, despite the uncertainty one might expect from the United Kingdom's inexperience with public utility regulation, from its lack of constitutional protection against governmental and regulatory discretion, and from continuing institutional change.

Commitment and Regulatory Independence in Practice in Latin American and Caribbean Countries

Commitment and Regulatory Independence in Practice in Latin American and Caribbean Countries PDF

Author: Miguel A. Montoya

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13:

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We present an analysis of the evolution of regulatory independence in practice for 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries in the telecommunications industry. Based on this analysis, we construct indices of regulatory independence, which improve upon the measures that have been used so far in the empirical regulation literature. Our measures are consistent with the fact that legal independence does not solve, but it relocates, the commitment problem of utility regulation. We show that legal indices may give a partially distorted picture of the commitment ability of institutions. In addition, treating independence as exogenous may underestimate its impact. The combination of de facto and de jure independence has a positive (probably modest nonetheless) impact on network penetration in telecommunications markets.

Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children

Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children PDF

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2004-07-09

Total Pages: 445

ISBN-13: 0309133386

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In recent decades, advances in biomedical research have helped save or lengthen the lives of children around the world. With improved therapies, child and adolescent mortality rates have decreased significantly in the last half century. Despite these advances, pediatricians and others argue that children have not shared equally with adults in biomedical advances. Even though we want children to benefit from the dramatic and accelerating rate of progress in medical care that has been fueled by scientific research, we do not want to place children at risk of being harmed by participating in clinical studies. Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children considers the necessities and challenges of this type of research and reviews the ethical and legal standards for conducting it. It also considers problems with the interpretation and application of these standards and conduct, concluding that while children should not be excluded from potentially beneficial clinical studies, some research that is ethically permissible for adults is not acceptable for children, who usually do not have the legal capacity or maturity to make informed decisions about research participation. The book looks at the need for appropriate pediatric expertise at all stages of the design, review, and conduct of a research project to effectively implement policies to protect children. It argues persuasively that a robust system for protecting human research participants in general is a necessary foundation for protecting child research participants in particular.