What Makes the Dominant Firm Dominant

摘要

The paper first identifies the confluence of circumstances that determine whether the dominant-firm model supplies an accurate description of marketplace reality and, hence, a reliable basis for policymaking. It then examines whether these conditions currently prevail in the markets for long-distance telecommunications services in the United States. Our conclusion is that they do not and, thus, that the dominant/nondominant dichotomy provides a questionable basis for assessing regulatory burdens.