Werner Neu

The telecommunications equipment industry: Recent changes in its international trade pattern

Since the early 1980s the world market for telecommunications equipment has been undergoing substantial change. It is claimed that the telecommunications equipment industry is evolving from the old structure in which products were mainly produced for national markets - and if possible also sold to Third World markets - towards a structure with an international division of labour that is more reminiscent of other industries. This paper analyses to what extent this has actually been taking place. It first discusses the causes thought to be at the root of the changes, and then describes the data on the basis of which the analysis is carried out.

Trade patterns, industry structure and industrial policy in telecommunications

This article examines three major changes which have been occuring in the telecommunications market: liberalization, leading to increased competition in services and equipment, the internationalization of the equipment market, and a rapidly changing industrial structure. The interrelationship among the three trends is analyzed, and the authors hypothesize that it is the technological determinants which are driving the changing structure of the industry and its trade patterns and regulatory environment. The instruments of industrial policy are discussed, with examples from several countries. The European Communitys policy in telecommunications is explained in some detail.