Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T14:44:17.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The measurement and effects of barriers to trade in basic telecommunication services: the role of negotiations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2004

RICHARD W. BROWN
Affiliation:
US International Trade Commission
ROBERT M. FEINBERG
Affiliation:
American University and US International Trade Commission

Abstract

Using econometric methods, this analysis develops quantity impacts of impediments to trade in voice telephone services, focusing on the perspective of negotiated agreements. These impacts, estimated on the basis of market, demographic, and policy variables, establish a baseline from which the achievements of future trade rounds, including the Doha Round, could be compared. In a departure from previous literature in this area, this article draws on documents appended or pertaining to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) to identify barriers to trade in voice telephone services, and to estimate quantity impacts on this basis. The article finds that market access and national treatment commitments scheduled by WTO members under the GATS, when complemented by commitments to pro-competitive regulatory disciplines, may be formulated into meaningful policy variables. These policy variables are found to be statistically significant in explaining market penetration in voice telephone services, as are variables for income and private sector ownership.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2004 Richard W. Brown and Robert M. Feinberg

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors. They are not the views of the US International Trade Commission or any individual Commissioners. The authors thank anonymous referees for helpful comments on an earlier draft. The authors also wish to thank Cynthia Payne for her extensive and patient assistance in developing the data sets underlying this analysis.