David Sancho

Which Internet Policy? Assessing Regional Initiatives in Spain

We examine the effect of public policy on the growth of Internet use. Using a decentralized country—Spain—as an example, we compare the 17 Spanish regions to test different Internet policy designs, taking into account the quality and number of specific programs promoted by regional governments, as well as the presence or absence of strategic planning in each region. We treat the percentage of Internet users as a dependent variable to compare its diffusion in different territories. Our findings show that educational levels and economic differences explain about half of the variations observed. Furthermore, the regional policies play a significant role in explaining regional variations. We investigate which public policy instruments are more significant for the development of the Internet, and find that focused policy intervention and complex policy initiatives are more significant than other policy instruments in explaining the increase in the percentage of Internet users.

Politics and Institutional Networks in Spanish Telecommunications Policy

Abstract The traditional political framework of telecommunications policy in the Southern European countries, based on the regulation of activities by monopolistic operators of a public or semipublic nature, is being replaced by regulated environments with a greater degree of sectorial competition. The aim of this text is to ascertain which factors act as an incentive and to what degree in generating public policy in this sector. We hope to understand the impact of various political-administrative factors on sectorial policies for telecommunications, through a case-study of Spain. Variables of an institutional nature have significantly conditioned the generation of the regulator-operator bond in Spain. Due to the stability of the regulatory network within this sector, regulatory policies have been maintained in this sector, regardless of the ideological position of the various Spanish governments. European-level institutions are also a key element in the decision- making process on regulatory output.

Administrative Innovations and Accountability Failures: The Termination of the Spanish Telecommunications Agency

Abstract We discuss how far accountability practices may be relevant to the success of independent regulators in countries without a tradition of administrative autonomy. We develop a conceptualisation of agency accountability failures and develop an analytical framework to examine the life and termination of the Spanish regulatory agency for telecommunications, CMT (Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones - Telecommunications Market Commission). We argue that the CMT’s termination was related, among other reasons, to accountability failures in its institutional design. The paper relies on a variety of sources, including legislation, literature, media coverage, and semistructured interviews with agency officials and several stakeholders.