Abstract
This article investigates the effects of upstream regulation that aims to create niches and attract new type of entrants on the competitive environment of downstream markets. Using unique cross-country data of Nordic mobile telecommunications markets, we show that upstream regulation leads to (i) increases in both number and aggregate market share of service-based providers in the downstream market, (ii) an increase in the number of service-based providers, thus increasing their aggregate market share, but no opposite direction of results and (iii) a lower retail price level, proxied by average revenue per user. Our findings imply that upstream regulation may be able to achieve better outcomes when the policy objectives are to revitalize mature network industries and to enhance consumer welfare.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1230-1236 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Applied Economics Letters |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 17 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 7 Oct 2018 |
Keywords
- access regulation
- market structure
- retail competition
- Vertical restraints