Trade imbalance in international message telephone services

Alleman, James and Madden, Gary G and Savage, Scott J (2000): Trade imbalance in international message telephone services. Published in: Applied Economics No. 32 (2000): pp. 1311-1321.

Abstract

An econometric model is estimated to identify determinants of trade imbalance in international message telephone services markets. Results indicate that asymmetric market structure is important in explaining bilateral market imbalances for high income country pairs. For low and high income country pairs, GDP per capita is the dominant cause of traffic imbalances. The findings suggest that telecommunications liberalization policies are effective in reducing distortions in international traffic flows and settlement payments. However, liberalization should be accompanied by developmental programmes that enhance income per capita and telecommunications network investment in developing countries. Such programmes may be effective in providing a more equitable distribution of the gains from telecommunications reform across countries.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Trade imbalance; international message telephone services
• Subjects: L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities > L96 - Telecommunications

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