This paper examines the design of telecommunications legislation in countries with transitional and developing economies (TDCs) engaged in liberalising and privatising their telecommunications sectors. It attempts to synthesise good practice and is intended to be used as a tool for legislative drafting. The main purpose of the paper is to highlight some of the issues which policy makers and legislators in TDCs may wish to bear in mind. The paper has three components. The first section outlines the scope and underlying principles of telecommunications legislation; the second section outlines the regulatory imperatives of telecommunications legislation and the third part, the annex, contains framework telecommunications legislation.

Developing countries apply numerous sector-specific taxes to telecommunications, whose buoyant revenues and formal enterprises provide a convenient “tax handle”. This paper explores whether there is an economic rationale for sector-specific taxes on telecommunications and, if so, what form they should take to balance the competing goals of promoting connectivity and mobilizing revenues. A survey of the literature finds that limited telecoms competition likely creates rents that could efficiently be taxed. We propose a “pecking order” of sector-specific taxes that could be levied in addition to standard income and value-added taxes, based on capturing rents and minimizing distortions. Taxes that target possible economic rents or profits are preferable, but their administrative challenges may necessitate reliance on service excises at the cost of higher consumer prices and lower connectivity. Taxes on capital inputs and consumer access, which distort production and restrict network access, should be avoided; so should tax incentives, which are not needed to attract foreign capital to tap a local market.

Since the revolution in modern telecommunications that followed the invention of the telegraph, telecommunication networks have provided channels for the fast delivery of communications across national borders. This transnational nature of telecommunication networks have led to the establishment of international regulatory regimes on the subject. On the other hand, developing countries consider regional economic integration as a major strategy for promoting trade and development, telecommunications have been seen within this context as a strategic tool for facilitating regional economic integration. This has also led to the establishment of regional telecommunication regulatory regimes that aim to promote regional integration and regulatory harmonization. This book discusses telecommunication regimes established by international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, the International Telecommunication Union, the World Trade Organization, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, and the Southern African Development Community, among a number of others. It will be relevant to policy makers, regulators, lawyers, law students, investors and telecommunication operators, as well as any person interested in international and African regional telecommunication regimes.

This report presents the findings of a survey of public officials in Guyana, on a wide range of civil service issues from personnel management practices to rewards and disciplinary action, and from budget environment to corruption. The objective of the study is to draw conclusions about those institutional weaknesses that should be the immediate target for reform.

This study on Turkmenistan is the latest addition to a long and growing series of World Bank publications on land reform and farm restructuring in the former socialist countries of Europe and Central Asia. The present report combines an analysis of the 1998 farm survey overview of general agricultural policies and sectoral performance. Survey results are preceded by a sectoral review and a description of emerging legal framework for land reform and farm restructuring.

'Utility Pricing and the Poor' evaluates the 1999 electricity tariff increase and the potential for improved water-sector cost recovery, with a particular focus on service accessibility and affordability for the poor. A two-stage approach is recommended. In the first stage, revenues should be increased by ensuring payment from households that have reliable service but are not paying their bills. After collection capacity is strengthened, the utility should implement a program of tariff adjustment, based on improved service and meter-based billing.