Digital Commons Network^™

A Framework For Understanding Property Regulation And Land Use Control From A Dynamic Perspective, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Response To Comments: The Informal Housing Debate Remains Open, Jonathan P. Bell

Jonathan P. Bell

UrbDeZine, November 12, 2014. In this follow up article on informal housing in Los Angeles, I respond to comments and take on critics who devalue housing code enforcement. I argue that unpermitted housing is inherently unsafe, and unsafe housing is not a viable housing option. I call for all sides of the informal housing debate to come together to look for solutions. URL: http://losangeles.urbdezine.com/2014/11/12/response-to-comments-the-informal-housing-debate-remains-open/

Converting Garages Into A Dissertation: A Conversation With Jacob Wegmann, Jonathan P. Bell

Jonathan P. Bell

UrbDeZine, June 17, 2014. In part 1 of the article, I highlight that burgeoning scholarship on "informality" in the U.S. housing market fails to address the implementation side of planning: the regulation and enforcement of unpermitted dwelling units. Part 2 includes a Q&A with PhD candidate Jacob Wegmann on his groundbreaking dissertation examining the impacts of extralegal dwelling units on the political economy and housing market in Southeast Los Angeles County. The enforcement perspective is core to Wegmann's study. URL: http://losangeles.urbdezine.com/2014/06/17/converting-garages-into-a-dissertation-a-conversation-with-jacob-wegmann/

Two Cheers For The Fcc's Mobility Fund Reverse Auction, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

The United States held its first competitive bidding, or “reverse auction,” for universal service subsidies in September 2012. While it is far too early to investigate whether this national auction generated improvements in mobile voice and broadband service in underserved areas, it is not too soon to evaluate the auction itself. This paper investigates the outcome of the Mobility Fund Phase 1 Auction (Auction 901) and considers what we could learn from it for universal service and for future planned reverse auctions, such as the upcoming incentive auction, which aims to reallocate spectrum from broadcasters to those who place a …

The Age Of Greed And The Sabotage Of Regulation, Rena I. Steinzor

Rena I. Steinzor

President Obama has exhibited a steadfast determination to respond with conciliation to intemperate and relentless demands by his political opponents that he dismantle regulation because it is undermining the nation’s economy. Viewed from the perspective of winning either political support or the basis for compromise with Republican legislative leaders, his concessions seem not only to have failed, but have also made matters significantly worse because, as negotiation experts would remind us, responding to highly competitive negotiation tactics with conciliation incites escalating confrontations and even more extreme demands. The Article uses the Administration’s decision to kill a proposed rule updating “hazardous …

Human Rights, Regulation, And National Security, Katina Michael, Simon Bronitt

Professor Katina Michael

Law disciplines technology, though it does so in a partial and incomplete way as reflected in the old adage that technology outstrips the capacity of law to regulate it. The rise of new technologies poses a significant threat to human rights – the pervasive use of CCTV (and now mobile CCTV), telecommunications interception, and low-cost audio-visual recording and tracking devices (some of these discreetly wearable), extend the power of the state and corporations significantly to intrude into the lives of citizens.

Regulatory Takings Claims And Coastal Management Of Sea Level Rise: Remembering Governments Are More Than Regulators, Chad J. Mcguire

Chad J McGuire

What Gets Measured Gets Done: Stop Focusing On Irrelevant Broadband Metrics, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

Concerns regarding the state of U.S. broadband arises from a combination of focusing on the wrong metrics, a misguided interpretation of consumer preferences, and a popular obsession with rankings. These misperceptions translate into misdirected, if well-intentioned, public policies that waste scarce resources and distract from real issues like a large income-based digital divide.

How To Create A More Efficient Broadband Universal Service Program By Incorporating Demand And Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

The existing high-cost fund suffers from two inherent flaws: it does not incorporate how much consumers value the services being subsidized, and does not measure the incremental, rather than average, effects of the program. This paper proposes a way to incorporate those factors into the Connect America Fund—the proposed high-cost broadband support program—to enable it to operate more efficiently than the existing high-cost program ever could.

In particular, decisions about where to provide subsidies should be based on cost-effectiveness analyses that explicitly take into account not just the cost of providing service but also how much consumers would value the …

Regulating And Deregulating The Public Utilities 1830–2010, Judith Clifton Dr.

Judith Clifton

History can provide invaluable insights into important issues of the economic and social regulation of utilities, and offer lessons towards future debates. But the history of utility regulation – which speaks of changing, diverse and complex experiences around the world – was, unfortunately, sidelined or marginalised when economists and policymakers enthusiastically embraced the question of how to reform the utilities from the 1970s. This paper provides an overview of the three, overarching, `waves' of utility regulation from the nineteenth century to the present, documenting how, when and why the ways in which the roles of the state, the market and …

From National Monopoly To Multinational Corporation: How Regulation Shaped The Road Towards Telecommunications Internationalisation, Judith Clifton, Daniel Díaz-Fuentes, Francisco Comín

Judith Clifton

One of the consequences of major regulatory reform of the telecommunications sector from the end of the 1970s – particularly, privatisation, liberalisation and deregulation – was the establishment of a new business environment which permitted former national telecommunications monopolies to expand abroad. From the 1990s, a number of these firms, particularly those based in Europe, joined the rankings of the world's leading multinational corporations. Their internationalisation was uneven, however: while some firms internationalised strongly, others ventured abroad much slower. This article explores how the regulatory framework within which telecommunications incumbents evolved over the long-term shaped their subsequent, uneven, paths to …

Secondary Spectrum Markets As Complements To Incentive Auctions, Scott J. Wallsten, John W. Mayo

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

The Universal Service Fund: What Do High-Cost Subsidies Subsidize?, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

The universal service program in the United States currently transfers about $7.5 billion per year from telephone subscribers to certain telephone companies. Those funds are intended to help achieve particular policy goals, such as subsidizing telephone service in rural areas and making phone service more affordable to low-income people. The bulk of the funds, about $4.5 billion per year, subsidizes firms operating in high-cost areas. A large literature documents the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of these subsidies, raising the question of where the money goes. This paper uses data submitted by about 1,400 recipients of high-cost subsidies from 1998 – 2008 …

The Political Economy Of Telecoms And Electricity Internationalization In The Single Market, Judith Clifton, Daniel Díaz-Fuentes, Revuelta Julio

Judith Clifton

As a consequence of liberalization policies in the European Union (EU), a number of formerly inward-looking incumbents in telecommunications and electricity transformed themselves into some of the world’s leading Multinationals. The relationship between liberalization and incumbent internationalization, however, is contested. Three political economy arguments on this relationship are tested. The first claims that incumbents most exposed to domestic liberalization would internationalise most. The second asserts that incumbents operating where liberalization was restricted could exploit monopolistic rents to finance internationalisation. The third argument claims that a diversity of paths will be adopted by countries and incumbents vis-à-vis liberalization and internationalization. Using …

Evaluating Eu Policies On Public Services: A Citizens' Approach, Judith Clifton, Daniel Díaz-Fuentes

Judith Clifton

This article evaluates EU policies on public services – particularly public network services - from the citizens´ point of view. It is first argued that citizens´ perceptions are important because the provision of fundamental services is at stake and because they constitute the infrastructure necessary for social and economic development. Citizens’ “voice” can, therefore, be known, analysed and used in the design of improved policy on public services along with other indicators. Changing EU policy on public services is synthesised and classified into two main phases in section two. Citizen satisfaction with public services as revealed through surveys from 1997 …

Is The European Union Ready For Fdi From Emerging Markets?, Judith Clifton, Daniel Díaz-Fuentes

Judith Clifton

This chapter asks whether the European Union Member States are ready for inward Foreign Direct Investment from the Emerging Markets. It concludes that European Union Member States have relatively open Foreign Direct Investment regimes in the international context, and yet instances of protectionism have been apparent in the recent period. However, protectionism has occurred both vis-a-vis Foreign Direct Investment from the Global South as well as from within the European Union, particularly in the so-called 'strategic' industries.

Testimony On Reforming The Universal Service High Cost Fund, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

Wobbling Back To The Fire: Economic Efficiency And The Creation Of A Retail Market For Set-Top Boxes, T. Randolph Beard, George S. Ford, Lawrence J. Spiwak, Michael Stern

GEORGE S FORD

Under Section 629 of the Communications Act, Congress directed the FCC to adopt regulations to promote a retail market for set-top boxes. The Commission’s first attempt was the ill-fated CableCard experiment, which—by the Commission’s own admission—was a dismal failure. In response, the Commission is now contemplating an aggressive new “AllVid” regime, whereby the agency would mandate multichannel video program distributors (“MVPDs”) to provide an adapter to serve as a “common interface for connection to televisions, DVRs, and other smart video devices.” Because the FCC is again proceeding without any formal economic analysis of the nature of the service-equipment relationship in …

The Need For Better Analysis Of High Capacity Services, George S. Ford, Lawrence J. Spiwak

GEORGE S FORD

In 1999, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) began to grant incumbent local exchange carriers (“LECs”) pricing flexibility on special access services in some Metropolitan Statistical Areas (“MSAs”) when specific evidence of competitive alternatives is present. The propriety of that deregulatory move by the FCC has been criticized by the purchasers of such services ever since. Proponents of special access price regulation rely on three central arguments to support a retreat to strict price regulation: (1) the market(s) for special access and similar services is unduly concentrated; (2) rates of return on special access services, computed using FCC ARMIS data, are …

Ripe Standing Vines And The Jurisprudential Tasting Of Matured Legal Wines – And Law & Bananas: Property And Public Choice In The Permitting Process, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

From produce to wine, we only consume things when they are ready. The courts are no different. That concept of “readiness” is how courts address cases and controversies as well. Justiciability doctrines, particularly ripeness, have a particularly important role in takings challenges to permitting decisions. The courts largely hold that a single permit denial does not give them enough information to evaluate whether the denial is in violation of law. As a result of this jurisprudential reality, regulators with discretion have an incentive to use their power to extract rents from those that need their permission. Non-justiciability of permit denials …

The Dtv Coupon Program: A Boon To Retailers, Not Consumers, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

Testimony For Fcc En Banc Hearing At Carnegie Mellon University On Broadband And The Digital Future, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

Reverse Auctions And Universal Telecommunications Service: Lessons From Global Experience, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

The United States now spends around $7 billion on universal service programs—subsidies intended to ensure that the entire country has access to telecommunications services. Most of this money supports telecommunications service in “high cost” (primarily rural) areas, and the High Cost fund is growing quickly. In response to this growth, policymakers are considering using reverse auctions, or bids for the minimum subsidy, as a way to reduce expenditures. While the U.S. has not yet distributed funds for universal service programs using reverse auctions, the method has been used widely. First, reverse auctions are akin to standard government procurement procedures, which …

Assessing The Regulatory Model For Water Supply In Jakarta, Robert Andrew Nickson

Robert Andrew Nickson

This article assesses the regulatory model for urban water supply services in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Water supply services have been privately operated there since February 1998 after two companies—Thames PAM Jaya (TPJ), operating in Eastern Jakarta, and PAMLyonnaise Jaya (PALYJA), operating in Western Jakarta—signed 25-years concession contracts with the state-owned Jakarta City Water Company (PAM Jaya). An independent regulatory body, the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body (JWSRB) was established in 2001. The article compares the regulatory system in Jakarta with the French and English approaches to water regulation. It then assesses this regulatory system from the perspective of …

China- Tibet Conflict, Allen Gnanam

Allen Gnanam

China- Tibet tensions are continually growing, as Tibetans are protesting for total independence from China, despite condemnation from their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who is only seeking a sense of autonomy for Tibet (Sinder, 2008). As Tibetan protests are becoming violent and aggressive, the Dalai Lama has also threatened to resign as Tibet’s government in exile (Sinder, 2008), however, his rhetoric is not being exposed to the Tibetan people, due to government censorship in China. Therefore the Dalai Lama, an exiled institutional entrepreneur, has to find new methods that will enable his influential message, to be received by the …

A Regulatory Play In Two Acts, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

Soap Box: If Katina Michael Could Send A Message To Government, It Would Be This..., K. Michael

Professor Katina Michael

No abstract provided.

Broadband And Unbundling Regulations In Oecd Countries, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

Broadband penetration and available speeds vary widely across OECD countries. Policymakers around the world, and especially in countries like the U.S. that lag in the rankings, are searching for policies to narrow those gaps. Relatively little empirical work tests possible reasons for these differences. In this paper I test the impacts of regulations and demographics on broadband development in a panel dataset across countries. In addition to adding to the meager empirical literature on broadband across countries, this paper is novel in two ways. First, it explicitly takes into account the many different types of unbundling regulations that countries have …

Telecommunications Regulation In U.S. States: Its Rise And Impacts In The Early Twentieth Century, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.

Universal Telecommunications Service In India, Roger G. Noll, Scott J. Wallsten

Scott J. Wallsten

No abstract provided.