This study addresses one of the hottest policy questions on both sides of the Atlantic--at what level of government should regulation be undertaken?. The editors bring together leading scholars to examine the various aspects of the debate between "harmonization" and "regulatory competition" across three comparative dimensions. The book provides a sharp focus on the circumstances that would yield gains from regulatory competition and to contrast those cases where heightened cooperation in standard setting or broader regulatory harmonization might increase social welfare.

Controlling market power is a crucial issue in liberalized telecommunications market where incumbents usually remain dominant for some time after the opening of the market to competition. Controlling market power can be achieved through two distinct sets of rules and institutions: economy-wide antitrust rules and institutions, which have been in place in most industrialized countries for several decades, and infrastructure or sector-specific rules and institutions which have been specifically adopted to promote competition and control market power in telecommunications or in particular...

This collection of essays consolidates research on the current and future perspectives of international trade law, applicable to telecommunications services and audiovisual services in a context of convergence. The first part analyzes the current regulatory framework applicable to telecommunications services in the context of the WTO. The second part analyzes the current regulatory framework applicable to audiovisual services. Particular focus is on the impact of content regulation and network convergence on international trade rules.

Competition Law and Regional Economic Integration argues that adoption and strengthening of a competition law regime is a key component of the regulatory reforms in the Mediterranean region. It also argues that the competition rules inserted in the Association Agreements signed between the European Union (EU) and the Mediterranean Partners (MPs) currently do not provide adequate protection against anti-competitive practices affecting trade between these blocks. The competition law regimes adopted by the MPs are generally poorly enforced with the consequence that many domestic anti-competitive...

Trade and the Environment is a penetrating analysis of the relation between trade and environmental protection policies in the European Community and the United States. It argues that the international tensions arising from policies designed to protect trade and the environment can be resolved by the free trade provisions of the EC Treaty and the US Constitution, and from the setting of common environmental standards for all parties. It discusses also the contributions of the judiciary and legislature toward the solution of these tensions.

The opening of the European postal market to competition is gaining ground as Member States transpose the 1997 postal directive into their national legislation and private postal companies expand their market shares. Moreover, changing regulatory trends (e.g., the ever-lower weight and price limits delimitating the scope of the reserved area) encourage further growth in the continuing liberalization of this important network industry. This book is based on a conference held in Brussels in February 2001, under the auspices of the Universities of Liege and Ghent and the Free University of...