Europeans outside the EU: Telecommunications and electricity reform in Norway and Switzerland

• 成果类型: Review
• 署名作者: Bartle, Ian
• 署名单位: University of Bath
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0491.2006.00324.x
• 发表日期: 2006
• 关键词: liberalization; institutions; POLICY; COMPETITION; telecoms; REGIMES; UNION; swiss

摘要

Norway and Switzerland are two western Europe states that are not members of the European Union (EU), and they are among a number of small and economically open states in which reform of economic sectors is seen to be incremental and reactive. This article poses two questions about the reform of telecommunications and electricity in the two countries. First, what impact has nonmembership of the EU had on the reforms? Second, have their small and open economies and policymaking systems-conceptualized as social corporatism in Norway and liberal corporatism in Switzerland-had a decisive impact? Some influence from the EU is evident, particularly in telecommunications, but parallels with EU states indicate that nonmembership of the EU, though influential, is not decisive. Although national characteristics matter, social and liberal forms of corporatism are shown to have limited utility. The actor-centered institutionalism approach, which allows a more nuanced analysis of actors and national institutions, is better at explaining the reforms.