Article,
Impacts of Market Liberalization on Regulatory Network: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Swiss Telecommunications Sector
Policy Studies Journal, 40 (3): 435--457 (2012)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2012.00460.x
Abstract
This article looks at the reconfiguration of the regulatory actors' network, as induced by the liberalization and reregulation processes in utility sectors. It investigates the changes in governance structures and patterns of collaborative ties between actors resulting from these processes. Applying stochastic actor-oriented modeling (SAOM) to data on the liberalization of the Swiss telecommunications sector over two decades, we test whether and to what extent structural changes driven by liberalization and reregulation express themselves through network effects, that is, through changing patterns of interactions between political authorities, regulators, regulatees, and interest groups. Our empirical tests highlight a rearrangement of the regulatory network and a reorganization of relational patterns around new actors, such as the sector-specific regulatory agency, coregulators, and new operators.
