New forms of industrial policy in the age of regulation: A comparison of electricity and telecommunications in Italy and Spain

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bulfone, Fabio
• 署名单位: Max Planck Society
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/gove.12408
• 发表日期: 2020
• 关键词: POLITICAL-ECONOMY; spanish; privatization; capitalism; telecoms; state; POWER

摘要

Relying on insights from the comparative capitalism debate, this article compares the industrial policy strategies implemented by the Italian and Spanish governments to favor the internationalization of domestic electricity and telecommunications incumbents. It is shown how the cross-sectoral and cross-country variation in the outcome of their industrial policy efforts-that is, successful or unsuccessful internationalization-is explained by the reciprocal power relationship between governments and domestic large shareholders (blockholders). Successful internationalization is conditional on the availability of two power resources the government can use to influence blockholders' behavior: ownership power and regulatory power. When these resources were available, governments were able to impose a stable ownership structure on national champions, leading to successful internationalization. When they were not available, ownership instability led to failure. The findings presented here contribute to the debate on new forms of state involvement in the economy in the neoliberal era.