ABSTRACT
In the last few decades, we have witnessed substantial liberalization trends in various industries, and in many countries around the world. Starting with the deregulation of the US airline industry in 1978, regulatory restructuring took place in many network industries such as telecommunications, electricity and railways. Most of the liberalization movements were initially triggered by the poor performance of existing regulatory frameworks: however, increases in competition, and the corresponding improvements in allocative and productive efficiency, are more typically associated with liberalization efforts.
