L'accès au marché dans les industries de réseau : enjeux concurrentiels et réglementaires

The report starts from the assumption that in network industries economies of scale existing on the supply side and network externalities prevailing on the side of demand tend to limit opportunities of competition and favor industrial concentration. Under these circumstances, one may ask how much interest there is in liberalising these industries, since it must be expected that after some years they may re-develop into quasi-monopolies. How may we prevent such a development ? The objective of the report is to answer these questions by pointing out the advantages and the limits of a liberalisation of network industries. A key element is market access which, therefore, must be at the center of any regulatory approach. The report provides an analytical framework for regulatory action aimed at safeguarding market access, in particular in cases where market access is controlled by a few enterprises holding market dominating positions. The report concludes by putting market access and monopolization problems of network industries in the perspective of economic globalisation.