ERIC Number: ED305052
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1988-Oct
Pages: 33
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Government Research and Development Policy for Telecommunications.
Cohen, Linda
This paper investigates how recent changes in the telecommunications industry are likely to affect government research and development policies by analyzing how changes in the market structure--in particular, increased competition in the industry due to domestic deregulation and international competition--change the political economy of government research and development. The first of four major sections of the paper considers the research and development problem, presents statistics to provide a context for concerns relating to international competitiveness, and considers potential reasons for the underprovision of research in the telecommunications industry and for singling out telecommunications for special treatment by the federal government. The second section summarizes the theoretical issues that underpin the political economy analyses, and suggests that an important motivation for government actions in this area is based on the specific requirements of government, and hence differs from those of private, profit-maximizing firms. The third section applies these models and theoretical propositions to the problem of government research and development, drawing examples from a variety of federal programs. The fourth section turns to an application to the current telecommunications industry, and concludes by recommending places where federal intervention is likely to be valuable for enhancing research and development and innovation in the telecommunications industry. The text is supplemented by one table, and 23 references are provided. (EW)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A