The Effects of Public Ownership and Regulatory Independence on Regulatory Outcomes: A Study of Interconnect Rates in EU Telecommunications

We examine the effects of public ownership and regulatory agency independence on regulatory outcomes in EU telecommunications. We present evidence of political influence over regulatory outcomes, and demonstrate the importance of regulatory independence in ensuring unbiased regulatory policy. Specifically, we study regulated interconnect rates paid by entrant firms to incumbent firms. We find that public ownership of the incumbent positively …