Bureaucrats as Entrepreneurs: Do Municipal Telecommunications Providers Hinder Private Entrepreneurs?

33 Pages Posted: 14 Jan 2008 Last revised: 19 Feb 2009

See all articles by Janice Alane Hauge

Janice Alane Hauge

University of North Texas

Mark A Jamison

University of Florida - Warrington College of Business Administration, Public Utility Research Center

Rich Gentry

University of Mississippi - Department of Management

Abstract

We consider how government-owned enterprises affect privately owned rivals. Specifically, we compare the types of markets that municipally owned telecommunications providers in the United States serve to the types of markets that competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) serve. We find that CLECs focus on potential profitability while municipalities appear to respond to other factors, such as political considerations or the desire to provide competition to incumbents. As a result, municipal providers tend to serve markets that CLECs do not. We also find that the presence of a municipal provider in a market does not affect the probability that a CLEC also serves that market. Our results suggest municipalities may not pose a significant competitive threat to CLECs and do not preclude CLEC participation.

Keywords: municipality, entry, telecommunications

JEL Classification: D40, L13, L96

Suggested Citation

Hauge, Janice Alane and Jamison, Mark A. and Gentry, Richard J., Bureaucrats as Entrepreneurs: Do Municipal Telecommunications Providers Hinder Private Entrepreneurs?. Information Economics and Policy, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 89-102, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1082823

Janice Alane Hauge

University of North Texas ( email )

1155 Union Circle #311457
Denton, TX 76203
United States
940-565-2573 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://economics.unt.edu/

Mark A. Jamison (Contact Author)

University of Florida - Warrington College of Business Administration, Public Utility Research Center ( email )

PO Box 117142
Gainesville, FL 32611
United States
352-392-6148 (Phone)
352-392-7796 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://warrington.ufl.edu/purc/facultyinfo.asp?WEBID=1217

Richard J. Gentry

University of Mississippi - Department of Management ( email )

United States
662-259-0163 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.bus.olemiss.edu/rgentry/

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