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To Sell or Not to Sell? Telecommunications Policy in Britain and France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Nikolaos Zahariadis
Nikolaos Zahariadis
Affiliation:
Political Scientist, University of Georgia
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Abstract

Using Kingdon's agenda setting model and broadening it to the entire policy formation process, I offer an explanation of why the British privatised their telecommunications authority but the French did not. Privatisation is brought about by coupling three streams or factors in critical moments in time: available alternatives generated in policy communities, high government borrowing needs, and party politics. The findings illuminate the usefulness of Kingdon's model beyond its original application in the United States, and have implications for broader theoretical debates in comparative policy research.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , October 1992 , pp. 355 - 376
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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