Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T01:57:05.112Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

To Sell or Not to Sell? Telecommunications Policy in Britain and France

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Nikolaos Zahariadis
Nikolaos Zahariadis
Affiliation:
Political Scientist, University of Georgia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Using Kingdon's agenda setting model and broadening it to the entire policy formation process, I offer an explanation of why the British privatised their telecommunications authority but the French did not. Privatisation is brought about by coupling three streams or factors in critical moments in time: available alternatives generated in policy communities, high government borrowing needs, and party politics. The findings illuminate the usefulness of Kingdon's model beyond its original application in the United States, and have implications for broader theoretical debates in comparative policy research.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , October 1992 , pp. 355 - 376
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Balladur, E. (1987a) Je Crois en I'Homme plus qu'en I'Etat. Paris: Flammarion.Google Scholar
Balladur, E. (1986) Journal Officiel, Débals Parlementaires: Senat, 21 05, 744.Google Scholar
Balladur, E. (1987b) vers la Liberié. Paris: La Documentation Françhise.Google Scholar
Bulford, C. (1983) ‘British Telecom’, in Hastings, S. and Levie, H., eds. Privatisation? Nottingham: Spokesman.Google Scholar
British Telecom (1985). Report and Accounts.Google Scholar
Castles, F. G. (1990) ‘The Dynamics of Policy Change: What Happened to the English-Speaking Nations in the 1980s’, European Journal of Political Research, 18, 491–513.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castles, F. G., ed. (1982) The Impact of Parlies: Politics and Policies in Capitalist Democratic States. London and Beverly Hills: Sage.Google Scholar
Cohen, M., March, J. and Olsen, J. (1972) ‘A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 17, 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, S. S., and Zysman, J. (1987) Manufacturing Matters: The Myth of the Post-Industrial Economy. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Darmon, J. (1985) Le Grand Dérangement. Paris: Jean-Claude Lattes.Google Scholar
Delaglade, S. (1991) ‘Le Téléphone Donne’, L'Express, 25 04, 20.Google Scholar
Department of Industry (DOI) (1982) The Future of Telecommunications in Britain, Cmnd 8610. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Duch, R. M. (1991) Privatizing the Economy: Telecommunications Policy in Comparative Perspective. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durupty, M. (1988) Les Privatisations en France, Notes et Etudes Documentaires no. 4857. Paris: La Documentation Françhise.Google Scholar
The Economist (1992) ‘Escaping the Heavy Hand of the State’,13 June, 73–4.Google Scholar
Feigenbaum, H. B. (1992) ‘France: Frem Pragmatic to Tactical Privatization’, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Le Figaro-Economic (1991) ‘France Télécom: Un Status pour quoi Faire?’, 11 February, 4–10.Google Scholar
Fossier, M. and Steckel, M. (1991) France Telecom: An Insider's Guide. Chicago: Telephony.Google Scholar
Gayle, D. and Goodrich, J., eds (1990) Privatization and Deregulation in Global Perspective. New York: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
Glade, W., ed. (1991) Privatization of Public Enterprises in Latin America. San Francisco: ICS for the International Center for Economic Growth.Google Scholar
Graham, C. and Prosser, T. (1991) Privatizing Public Enterprises: Constitutions, the State, and Regulation in Comparative Perspective. Oxford: Clarendon.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, P. A. (1989) ‘Conclusion: The Politics of Keynesian Ideas’, in Hall, P. A., ed. The Political Power of Economic Ideas: Keynesianism across Nations. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansard, House of Commons (1990) Written Answers, 27 April, cols. 357–60.Google Scholar
Heald, D. (1988) ‘The United Kingdom Privatisation and its Political Context’, West European Politics 11, 4, 31–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hills, J. (1986) Deregulating Telecoms. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.Google Scholar
Hills, J. (1989) ‘Neo-conservative Regimes and Convergence in Telecommunications Policy’, European Journal of Political Research, 17, 95–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogwood, B. W. (1992) Trends in British Public Policy: Do Governments Make a Difference?, Buckingham and Philadelphia: Open University Press.Google Scholar
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (1984) Yearbook of Common Carrier Statistics. Geneva: ITU.Google Scholar
Jannic, H. (1992) ‘Marcel Roulet: France Telecom est Leader dans ses Techniques, il le Sera aussi dans le Service’, L’Expansion, 2/15 04, 66–71.Google Scholar
Johnstone, B. (1980) ‘Telecom to Press for Easing on Cash Limits’, The Times, 4 10, 15.Google Scholar
Kavanagh, D. (1990) Thatcherism and British Politics: The End of Consensus? 2nd ed.Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kingdon, J. W. (1984) Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policies. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Longuet, G. (1988) Télécoms: La Conquêle de Nouveaux Espaces. Paris: Dunod.Google Scholar
Lord, R., ed. (1992) Privatisation Yearbook 1992. London: Privatisation International.Google Scholar
Lundqvist, L. J. (1988) ‘Privatization: Towards a Concept for Comparative Analysis’, Journal of Public Policy, 8, 1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Margerie, G. de (1987) ‘L'Intégration Services-Equipments en Télécommunications: Le Cas Français’, Revue d'Economie Industrielle, 39, 198–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, D. (1981) ‘British Telecom Renews Plea for Greater Flexibility in Borrowing’, Financial Times, 30 06, 11.Google Scholar
Mayer, C. (1989) ‘Public Ownership: Concepts and Applications’, in Helm, D. ed. The Economic Borders of the State. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Moon, J., Richardson, J. J. and Smart, P. (1986) ‘The Privatisation of British Telecom: A Case Study of the Extended Process of Legislation’, European Journal of Political Research, 14, 339–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, M. (1982) The Rise and Decline of Nations. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Pitt, D. (1990) ‘An Essentially Contestable Organisation: British Telecom and its Privatisation Debate’, in Richardson, J. J., ed. Privatisation and Deregulation in Canada and Britain. Hants, UK: Dartmouth for the Institution for Research on Public Policy.Google Scholar
Pitt, D. (1980) The Telecommunications Function of the British Post Office: A Case Study of Bureaucratic Adaptation. Westmead, UK: Saxon House.Google Scholar
Prévot, H. (1989) L'Avenir du Service Public de la Poste el des Télécommunications. Paris: La Documen-tation Française.Google Scholar
Quatrepoint, J. M. (1986) Histoire Secrète des Dossiers Noirs de la Gauche. Paris: Alain Moreau.Google Scholar
Rose, R. (1984) Do Parties Make a Difference? 2nd end. London: Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roulet, M. (1988) ‘France Telecom: Preparing fro more Competition’, Telecommunications Polity, 12, 109–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudd, R. (1991) ‘Early Sale of Residual BT Stake Planned, Financial Times, 27 12, 13.Google Scholar
Sabatier, P. A. (1991) ‘Toward Better Theories of the Policy Process’, PS: Political Science and Politics, 24. 147–56Google Scholar
Shonfield, A. (1965) Modem Capitalism: The Changing Balance of Public and Private Power. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tuppen, J. (1991) Chirac's France: 1986–88. New York: St. Martin's.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veljanovski, C. (1987) Selling the State: Privatisation in Britain. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.Google Scholar
Vernon, R., ed. (1988) The Promise of Privatization. New York: Council on Foreign Relations.Google Scholar
Vickers, J. and Wright, V. (1988) ‘The Politics of Industrial Privatisation in Western Europe: An Overview’, West European Politics, 11, 4, 1–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, N. (1992) ‘The Political Economy of Privatization in Britain and France’, unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA.Google Scholar