This study empirically tests the relationship between regulation and innovation in the telecommunications sector by deploying an efficient panel threshold model. The balanced panel dataset comprises of 32 OECD countries over the period 1995–2012. The empirical results unveil that beyond a certain threshold, a further increase in the (de)regulatory intensity leads to a decrease of the sectoral innovation activity. The empirical findings do explain the descriptive evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between regulation and innovation in the telecommunications sector since structural non-monotonic relationships are uncovered. Lastly, this study provides significant policy implications, arguing that regulators should develop mechanisms fostering innovation activity without much affecting the intensity of market competition.

本研究通过部署有效的面板阈值模型，实证检验了电信行业监管与创新之间的关系。平衡面板数据集包括 1995-2012 年期间的 32 个经合组织国家。实证结果表明，超过一定阈值，进一步增加（去）监管强度会导致部门创新活动减少。由于发现了结构性非单调关系，实证结果确实解释了电信部门监管与创新之间存在倒 U 形关系的描述性证据。最后，本研究提供了重要的政策含义，认为监管机构应制定促进创新活动的机制，而不会对市场竞争强度产生太大影响。