Download or read book The Political Economy of Telecommunications Privatization in Sub Saharan Africa written by Olubunmi Ibikunle Folayan and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reforming Infrastructure written by Ioannis Nicolaos Kessides and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2004 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, railways, and water supply, are often vertically and horizontally integrated state monopolies. This results in weak services, especially in developing and transition economies, and for poor people. Common problems include low productivity, high costs, bad quality, insufficient revenue, and investment shortfalls. Many countries over the past two decades have restructured, privatized and regulated their infrastructure. This report identifies the challenges involved in this massive policy redirection. It also assesses the outcomes of these changes, as well as their distributional consequences for poor households and other disadvantaged groups. It recommends directions for future reforms and research to improve infrastructure performance, identifying pricing policies that strike a balance between economic efficiency and social equity, suggesting rules governing access to bottleneck infrastructure facilities, and proposing ways to increase poor people's access to these crucial services.
Download or read book Africa s Infrastructure written by World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2009-12-01 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainable infrastructure development is vital for Africa s prosperity. And now is the time to begin the transformation. This volume is the culmination of an unprecedented effort to document, analyze, and interpret the full extent of the challenge in developing Sub-Saharan Africa s infrastructure sectors. As a result, it represents the most comprehensive reference currently available on infrastructure in the region. The book covers the five main economic infrastructure sectors information and communication technology, irrigation, power, transport, and water and sanitation. 'Africa s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation' reflects the collaboration of a wide array of African regional institutions and development partners under the auspices of the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa. It presents the findings of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project launched following a commitment in 2005 by the international community (after the G8 summit at Gleneagles, Scotland) to scale up financial support for infrastructure development in Africa. The lack of reliable information in this area made it difficult to evaluate the success of past interventions, prioritize current allocations, and provide benchmarks for measuring future progress, hence the need for the AICD. Africa s infrastructure sectors lag well behind those of the rest of the world, and the gap is widening. Some of the main policy-relevant findings highlighted in the book include the following: infrastructure in the region is exceptionally expensive, with tariffs being many times higher than those found elsewhere. Inadequate and expensive infrastructure is retarding growth by 2 percentage points each year. Solving the problem will cost over US$90 billion per year, which is more than twice what is being spent in Africa today. However, money alone is not the answer. Prudent policies, wise management, and sound maintenance can improve efficiency, thereby stretching the infrastructure dollar. There is the potential to recover an additional US$17 billion a year from within the existing infrastructure resource envelope simply by improving efficiency. For example, improved revenue collection and utility management could generate US$3.3 billion per year. Regional power trade could reduce annual costs by US$2 billion. And deregulating the trucking industry could reduce freight costs by one-half. So, raising more funds without also tackling inefficiencies would be like pouring water into a leaking bucket. Finally, the power sector and fragile states represent particular challenges. Even if every efficiency in every infrastructure sector could be captured, a substantial funding gap of $31 billion a year would remain. Nevertheless, the African people and economies cannot wait any longer. Now is the time to begin the transformation to sustainable development.
Download or read book Privatization in Africa written by Emile Sawaya and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Note analyzes Zambia's reasons, and measures for success in privatization. It stipulates the following key indicators for assessing the performance of divestiture programs in Africa: the extent of divestiture; fiscal impact; the efforts made, and achievement in broadening ownership; the level of foreign direct investment attracted; enterprise post-privatization performance; the depth and quality of program design and management; and, transparency and government commitment. Of these, Zambia rates medium to high on all indicators, and the note outlines that commitment is what gave prominence to the private sector's role in the process. However, the privatization program has not been without its problems. Because of its fragile economic situation, the country was not readily attractive to foreign investors; but, multinational companies who have invested in Zambia are impressed with the way the program is being managed. As a result, the country is now one of the most attractive to investors in Africa.
Download or read book The Politics of Trade and Industrial Policy in Africa written by Charles Chukwuma Soludo and published by IDRC. This book was released on 2004 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book maps the process and political economy of policy making in Africa. It's focus on trade and industrial policy makes it unique and it will appeal to students and academics in economics, political economy, political science and African studies. Detailed case studies help the reader to understand how the process and motivation behind policy decisions can vary from country to country depending on the form of government, ethnicity and nationality and other social factors.
Download or read book The World Bank Research Observer written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Taxing Telecommunications in Developing Countries written by Ms.Thornton Matheson and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2017-11-15 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Developing countries apply numerous sector-specific taxes to telecommunications, whose buoyant revenues and formal enterprises provide a convenient “tax handle”. This paper explores whether there is an economic rationale for sector-specific taxes on telecommunications and, if so, what form they should take to balance the competing goals of promoting connectivity and mobilizing revenues. A survey of the literature finds that limited telecoms competition likely creates rents that could efficiently be taxed. We propose a “pecking order” of sector-specific taxes that could be levied in addition to standard income and value-added taxes, based on capturing rents and minimizing distortions. Taxes that target possible economic rents or profits are preferable, but their administrative challenges may necessitate reliance on service excises at the cost of higher consumer prices and lower connectivity. Taxes on capital inputs and consumer access, which distort production and restrict network access, should be avoided; so should tax incentives, which are not needed to attract foreign capital to tap a local market.
Download or read book Privatisation in Developing Countries written by Paul Cook and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 728 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last decades of the 20th century, privatization has been a key policy instrument in the move to more market-based economic systems in all parts of the developing world. Privatization, however, has not necessarily been accompanied by an increase in market competition. Many public utilities have been privatized as monopolies and in addition regulatory systems have been developed to restrict their market power and protect the interests of consumers. This volume brings together a collection of papers that provide theoretical and empirical insights into privatization and regulation, as well as policy perspectives in relation to developing countries.
Download or read book Economic Policy Reform written by Anne O. Krueger and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 634 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Anne O. Krueger has assembled and deftly summarized an excellent set of papers on the major issues in economic reform in developing countries at the turn of the century."--Stanley Fischer, International Monetary Fund The papers and commentary collected in this volume discuss vital contemporary thinking on economic policy reform--in particular, the difficulties that leave so much of the world mired in poverty. Distinguished contributors address issues ranging from education and privatization to exchange rates and telecommunications reform, providing an excellent overview of the current situation and the possible paths into the future.
Download or read book African Political Economy written by and published by M.E. Sharpe. This book was released on 2001 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines FDR and the New Deal era from the perspectives of social and cultural history, political science, popular culture, and political history.
Download or read book Communication Yearbook 25 written by William B. Gudykunst and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2001-05 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers state-of-the-art communication research, representing media, interpersonal, intercultural and other areas of communication. It is an important reference on current research for scholars and students in the social sciences.
Download or read book Privatization in Latin America written by World Bank and published by World Bank. This book was released on 2005 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication examines the empirical evidence on the privatisation measures introduced in the Latin American region since the 1980s, in light of recent criticisms of the record of privatisation and allegations of corruption, abuse of market power and neglect of the poor. It includes case studies on the privatisation debate in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru; and sets out recommendations for future reforms.
Download or read book Price Structure and Network Externalities in the Telecommunications Industry written by Atsushi Iimi and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2007 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many developing countries have experienced significant developments in their telecommunications network. Countries in Africa are no exception to this. The paper examines what factor facilitates most network expansion using micro data from 45 fixed-line and mobile telephone operators in 18 African countries. In theory the telecommunications sector has two sector-specific characteristics: network externalities and discriminatory pricing. It finds that many telephone operators in the region use peak and off-peak prices and termination-based price discrimination, but are less likely to rely on strategic fee schedules such as tie-in arrangements. The estimated demand function based on a discreet consumer choice model indicates that termination-based discriminatory pricing can facilitate network expansion. It also shows that the implied price-cost margins are significantly high. Thus, price liberalization could be conducive to development of the telecommunications network led by the private sector. Some countries in Africa are still imposing certain price restrictions. But more important, it remains a policy issue how the authorities should ensure reciprocal access between operators at reasonable cost.
Download or read book Privatization written by Sunita Kikeri and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2005 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This paper takes stock of recent privatization trends, examines the extent to which government ownership is still prevalent in developing countries, and summarizes emerging issues for state enterprise reform going forward. Between 1990 and 2003, 120 developing countries carried out nearly 8,000 privatization transactions and raised $410 billion in privatization revenues. Privatization activity peaked in 1997 and dropped off in the late 1990s and, while still at overall low levels, is slowly creeping back. While there are a large number of studies assessing the impact of privatization on enterprise performance and overall welfare, there are no systematic data on the extent to which privatization has changed the role of state enterprises in the economy. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the state's role has been substantially reduced in Eastern and Central Europe and in certain countries in Latin America. But available evidence also suggests that, despite a long track record of privatization, government ownership in state enterprises is still widely prevalent in some regions and countries, and in certain sectors in virtually all regions. The paper shows that the costs of not reforming state enterprises are high and that continued efforts need to be made to improve their performance by improving privatization policies and institutions; adopting more of a case-by-case approach for complex sectors and countries; and exposing state enterprises to market discipline through new private entry and exit of unviable firms and improvements in their corporate governance. "--World Bank web site.
Download or read book The Politics of Patronage in Africa written by Roger K. Tangri and published by Africa World Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a survey of the influence of political factors on economic performance throughout Africa with case studies drawn from Ghana, Zambia and Uganda. It is a comparative study of the difficulties in developing a private enterprise economy.
Download or read book Crossed Wires written by Dan Schiller and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-02-17 with total page 833 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sweeping, revisionist historical analysis of telecommunications networks, from the dawn of the republic to the 21st century. Telecommunications networks are vast, intricate, hugely costly systems for exchanging messages and information-within cities and across continents. From the Post Office and the telegraph to today's internet, these networks have sown domestic division while also acting as sources of international power. In Crossed Wires, Dan Schiller, who has conducted archival research on US telecommunications for more than forty years, recovers the extraordinary social history of the major network systems of the United States. Drawing on arrays of archival documents and secondary sources, Schiller reveals that this history has been shaped by sharp social and political conflict and is embedded in the larger history of an expansionary US political economy. Schiller argues that networks have enabled US imperialism through a a recurrent "American system" of cross-border communications. Three other key findings wind through the book. First, business users of networks--more than carriers, and certainly more than residential users--have repeatedly determined how telecommunications systems have developed. Second, despite their current importance for virtually every sphere of social life, networks have been consecrated above all to aiding the circulation of commodities. Finally, although the preferences of executives and officials have broadly determined outcomes, these elites have repeatedly had to contend against the ideas and organizations of workers, social movement activists, and other reformers. This authoritative and comprehensive revisionist history of US telecommunications argues that not technology but a dominative--and contested--political economy drove the evolution of this critical industry.
Download or read book Privatization written by John R. Nellis and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Governance, as defined by the World Bank in its 1992 report, Governance and Development, is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources for development. The report deemed it is within the Bank's mandate to focus on the following: -the process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources -the capacity of governments to design, formulate, and implement policies and discharge functions. Also available: Governance: The World Bank's Experience (ISBN 0-8213-2804-2) Stock No. 12804.
