Assesses the global competitiveness of the U.S. computer software and service industries through an examination of distinct market segments. Examines external factors, such as government policies (intellectual property protection, telecommunications regulations, and export controls), and education trends. Internal factors are also examined such as host management strategies and product development strategies, that impact these industries. The analysis focuses primarily on the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Charts, tables and graphs.

Presents empirical evidence on the past, present, and future of the global electronics market in a series of comparative analyses of economic competitions using data pertaining to specific countries, industries, and companies. Seeing such competition as a complex dynamic process, compares the macroeconomic performance of selected nations, of their electronics industries, and of corporations in the clustering groups that spread along the electronic technology chain. Argues that the doctrine of free trade is irrelevant and that a country's advantage no longer depends on natural endowments such as climate and minerals, but can be created and accumulated by any country. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

There is growing consensus among international trade negotiators and policymakers that a prime area for future multilateral discussion is competition policy. Competition policy includes antitrust policy (including merger regulation and control) but is often extended to include international trade measures and other policies that affect the structure, conduct, and performance of individual industries. This study includes country studies of competition policy in Western Europe, North America, and the Far East (with a focus on Japan) in the light of increasingly globalized activities of business firms. Areas where there are major differences in philosophy, policy, or practice are identified, with emphasis on those differences that could lead to economic costs and international friction. Alternatives for eliminating these costs and frictions are discussed, including unilateral policy changes, bilateral or multilateral harmonization of policies, and creation of new international regimes to supplement or replace national or regional regimes.

This volume is a compilation of papers reflecting many of the issues related to telecommunications that are being debated today and are likely to continue to be addressed in the next few years. The papers examine the ways in which economic and technological forces are changing the regulation of telecommunications and the characteristics of the industry itself. After an introduction on issues such as the information highway, industry consolidation, market integration, and constraints on new policies, the papers cover such topics as the changes in Canadian telecommunications and their economics, the role of telecommunications in productivity and competition, the business network concept as an alternative governance structure, competition policy, convergence of technologies, separation of infrastructure from services, European telecommunications policy, and the historical context in which Canada has handled earlier transformations of a technological nature.