Policy networks and market opening: Telecommunications liberalization in Spain

Abstract

Abstract. For a broad range of policy sectors, liberalization was the predominant goal during the 1990s, and the policy change involved gave rise to a wide range of academic debates. In this article we analyze the consequences of these far‐reaching policies for the policy process itself. We ask whether the policy changes significantly altered the characteristics of policy processes by considering the timing and extent of the changes in policy networks during those years. More concretely, we discuss the extent to which policy networks changed as a result of market opening, considering the case of the telecommunications policy network in Spain. Using data from two successive surveys, we compare the network structure before and after market opening. Our findings show that only slight changes occurred during this period, making the network denser but not more open. Thus, we suggest that a more successful liberalization probably would have required a network that was more open to new entrants and in which power was less centralized and so able to guarantee a competitive environment.

Regulatory policy outputs and impacts: Exploring a complex relationship

“…It is our goal in this article to empirically illustrate the nature of the relationship between changes in regulatory policy outputs (our focal independent variable) and impacts (our dependent variable) for a larger number of states in order to contribute to the small but growing literature on policy change (see e.g. Radaelli 1997; Richardson 2000; John 2003; Jordana & Sancho 2005; Baumgartner et al . 2009; Baumgartner & Jones 2009; Capano & Howlett 2009; Howlett & Cashore 2009; Howlett & Joshi‐Koop 2011; Sotirov & Memmler 2012).…”

Which Internet Policy? Assessing Regional Initiatives in Spain

“…In Spain the telecommunications regulatory framework, which might have a significant influence on the diffusion of the Internet, operates at the national level (Jordana & Sancho, 2005), and there are no relevant differences at regional level in this policy area. This contextual factor allows us to concentrate on the role of a few crucial variables that can explain most of the existing differences in Internet diffusion across the regions.…”

A Contagious Concept: Explaining the Spread of Privatization in the Telecommunications Sector

“…20 20 See also the qualitative results of Jordana and Sancho (2005, 535) that corroborate this interpretation. …”

“…Thus, it is not surprising that political science has extensively studied privatization policies. Privatization in the telecommunications (Jordana and Sancho 2005; Schneider 2001), electricity (Eising and Jabko 2001), postal (Schmidt 1996a), railway (Kerwer and Teutsch 2001), and airline sectors (O'Reilly and Sweet 1998) has been studied in case studies, while quantitative studies cut across sectoral boundaries or study privatization in several sectors (Henisz, Zelner, and Guillén 2005; Schneider, Fink, and Tenbücken 2005; Zohlnhöfer, Obinger, and Wolf 2008).…”