ABSTRACT
Change in the utilities sectors has been driven primarily by technological
advance and accompanying developments in the international political
economy. The action of the European Union in establishing supranational
regulation in air transport, and in mediating domestic regulatory change in
telecommunications and electricity, has been in large part a response to
these developments. The main focus of this book is not on the systemic
drivers of change, but on the intermediary role of EU institutions in policy
transfer. In order to contextualize EU policy transfer, however, it is necessary to examine the effects of the external environment. This will enable us
to distinguish between the policy effects of EU institutions and those aris-
ing from developments in the international political economy. This chapter
identifies four developments in the international political economy which
have contributed to the liberalization of the utility sectors: ‘globalizing’
technologies; the internationalization of corporate structures and markets;
trans-national policy trends; and the role of international actors.
