A Welfare Analysis of Local Franchise and Other Types of Regulation: Evidence from the Cable TV Industry

By examining both price and the level of quality, this paper empirically determines the welfare implications of local franchise and other types of regulation that existed in the cable TV industry prior to federal deregulation (1987). Contrary to the popular belief that price regulation was effective but also lowered the quality of service, I find that prices were lower and the levels of service (measured by the number of imported distant channels and cable networks) were higher than the monopolistic ones. The paper also reveals some significant differences in the welfare improvements under the alternative regulatory regimes.