FACILITATION VS REGULATION

摘要

"Industrial policies - meaning policies by which governments attempt to shape sectoral allocation of the economy are back in fashion." So said Nobel prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz and colleagues, in 2013. The quote highlights that there are two approaches to ICT policy - regulatory and developmental. In telecoms, the objective of a regulatory approach to policy is to create a stable policy framework for a liberalised telecoms market with real competition. The instruments are rulemaking and correction of market failures. The argument is that a stable regulatory environment reduces transaction costs and stimulates investments But direct market interventions are to be avoided. In contrast, the developmental approach stimulates investments and the use of technology through various public sector activities. The instruments could be demand stimulation via public consumption or subsidies to use or supply ICT services. This includes direct market intervention, such as in public-private partnerships that give public support to infrastructure development.