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Government policies towards structural separation and access pricing, even within the same country or industry, are often very different, but the reasons for the specific approach that has been chosen are very difficult to identify. Structural regulations have frequently been developed in a piecemeal fashion without general principles to explain the differences in outcomes. Sometimes, the differences may be justified by distinctly different industry conditions. At other times, different approaches may be an indication of uncoordinated thinking across different regulatory bodies.
There has been relatively little work that focuses on providing a unified approach to these issues, despite the fact that structural separation and access pricing are often critical for introducing competition into liberalized markets. This conference may help competition authorities and regulators to improve their basis for deciding which approach is appropriate for a specific industry. Experiences in telecommunications, electricity, railroads and postal services will be discussed and compared. A final session will attempt to provide a unified treatment to the topic, integrating industry-specific information.
Competition authority officials, industry regulators, consumer associations, private sector representatives and academics are all invited to attend. There is no charge for attendance and the expected results are very much dependent on the interactions and debates that will take place.
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