We test for the distributional effects of regulation and entry in the mobile telecommunications sector in a highly unequal country, South Africa. Using six waves of a consumer survey of over 134,000 individuals between 2009–2014, we estimate a discrete choice model allowing for individual-specific price-responsiveness and preferences for network operators. Next, we use a demand and supply equilibrium framework to simulate prices and the distribution of welfare without entry and mobile termination rate regulation. We find that, in the South African context, regulation benefits consumers significantly more than entry does, and that high-income consumers and city-dwellers benefit more in terms of increased consumer surplus.

我们测试了高度不平等的国家（南非）在移动电信行业中监管和进入的分布效应。我们使用六波针对2009-2014年间超过13.4万个人的消费者调查，估计了一个离散的选择模型，该模型允许针对网络运营商的个人特定价格响应和偏好。接下来，我们使用供需均衡框架来模拟价格和福利分配，而无需进入和移动终止率监管。我们发现，在南非的背景下，监管给消费者带来的好处远大于进入市场所带来的好处，而高收入消费者和城市居民从增加的消费者剩余中受益更多。