This unique book offers a comprehensive survey of the privatization and deregulation of the public sector in a number of important developed and developing economies. The first part examines the privatization and deregulation process in Japan, Korea, India, Latin America, the US and the UK. The authors examine the costs and benefits in each country and describe the private initiatives and ongoing government intervention in the new markets. Wide country coverage allows readers to compare and contrast the different regimes in each country, particularly in the less studied Asian and Indian regions. The authors also describe the regime in the US and UK, the forerunners of privatization initiatives, from which useful policy lessons can be learnt in terms of ownership, price setting, universal service and welfare implications. The second part offers sector surveys from important industries, including telecommunications in Japan, India and Latin America, electricity in the UK and US, and the banking sector in Japan. Privatization, Deregulation and Economic Efficiency will be useful supplementary reading for scholars and students of the theory and practice of public economics, as well as for governments and NGOs interested in the policy implications of the privatization and deregulation process.

The proliferation of new information technologies throughout the world has raised some important questions for policymakers as to how developing countries can benefit from their diffusion. This important volume compares the advantages and disadvantages of the IT revolution through detailed studies of a variety of developed and developing nations and regions: Argentina, Estonia, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and the USA. The authors address a number of challenging issues such as standardization, IT in the mass media, Public Key Infrastructure, upstream connectivity and pricing, and draw out important policy implications for late-comers in this field - predominantly developing countries. They highlight the negative aspects of IT policy such as the digital divide and monopoly of ownership, but also illustrate the potential benefits such as 'leapfrogging' the industrialization process and the expansion of broadband capabilities. This impressive volume will be essential reading for academics and researchers with an interest in development economics, utility regulation and technology policy. It will also be of great practical value to international policymakers and governments in the developing world who wish to learn more about the costs and benefits of regulation and deregulation in the IT industry.

This book, a collaborative effort by researchers from Japan, Italy and the USA, seeks to explore the reasons for industrial clustering in certain regions of Asia, Europe and North America. The studies presented illustrate real examples of industrial clusters, adding anecdotal evidence to the emerging theory of economic geography by exemplifying the centripetal and centrifugal forces that regulate the clustering process. The authors examine clusters in a diverse set of countries including China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the USA and Vietnam. Significantly, the book provides an interesting split between studies of IT and software-related industries, and more traditional sectors, such as steel and vehicle manufacturing. Industrial Agglomeration and New Technologies pays attention to a varied array of factors that influence clustering, such as knowledge spillovers, tacit knowledge, communication and transport costs, and the effects of various government policies. The case studies provide useful examples for government and industry leaders, as well as a starting point for researchers seeking an ultimate answer to the question: 'Why do firms form clusters?'

Information technology has become a constant presence in contemporary life, infiltrating community, business and state affairs. This book discusses the uses and problems of IT in both developing and advanced countries, focusing on the ways in which IT changes society without neglecting the problematic aspects of the Internet revolution such as computer crime and the lack of professionals with computer literacy, particularly from a developing country's perspective. It examines such issues as the characteristics of network economies, connectivity pricing, Internet access, regulation, changes in supply chains, IT gaps between supply and demand, productivity increases, and the digital divide. Emanuele Giovannetti, Mitsuhiro Kagami and Masatsugu Tsuji have gathered together a group of international experts in economics and trade who discuss the impact of this revolution globally, looking at countries or regions including the UK, EU, Central and Eastern Europe, USA, Japan, India, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China.

Information technology (IT) has become a constant presence in contemporary life, infiltrating community, business and state affairs. This book discusses applications and consequences of IT in developing and advanced countries, focusing on the ways in which IT has changed society via the so-called Internet revolution. It examines the characteristics of network economies; Internet access; changes in supply chains; productivity increases; and the digital divide. It ranges through the U.K., European Union, Central and Eastern Europe, U.S., Japan, India, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China.