Author
Abstract
[eng] Abstract : In continental Europe the state owned and controlled the telegraph network from the beginning. In the United Kingdom the state bought the private system in 1870. State ownership allowed the utilisation of economies of scope with the postal service and subsidisation to pursue non-market goals or to correct for market failure. An econometric model shows that although there were indeed considerable benefits from «postalisation», there were typically none from subsidies and large state organisations had higher unit costs than small. These last two findings suggest that European state telecommunications organisations in the nineteenth century were considerably less efficient than they could be, a result which American evidence supports. [fre] Résumé : Sur le continent européen, le réseau télégraphique fut d'emblée propriété d'Etat et contrôlé par l'Etat. Dans le cas du Royaume-Uni, l'Etat se porta acquéreur du réseau privé en 1870. Cette propriété étatique allait permettre l'obtention d'économies par synergie avec le service des postes et la mise en œuvre de subventions autorisant la fixation d'objectifs indépendants des contraintes du marché ou fournissant un palliatif aux insuffisances de ce marché. Un modèle économétrique fait apparaître que, si la «postalisation» des télécommunications permit des gains importants, il n'en fut pas de même pour ce qui est des subventions, et que les organismes d'Etat de grandes dimensions devaient faire face à des coûts unitaires plus élevés que ceux de leurs homologues moins importants. Ces deux dernières conclusions donnent à penser que, au XIXe siècle, les organismes étatiques de télécommunications d'Europe faisaient preuve d'un rendement économique nettement inférieur à leurs possibilités, ce que confirment les résultats américains.
Suggested Citation
James Foreman-Peck, 1989.
"L'état et le développement du réseau de télécommunications en Europe à ses débuts,"
Histoire, économie & société, Programme National Persée, vol. 8(3), pages 383-402.
Handle:
RePEc:prs:hiseco:hes_0752-5702_1989_num_8_3_1533
DOI: 10.3406/hes.1989.1533
Note: DOI:10.3406/hes.1989.1533
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