Abstract

Information and communications technologies lie at the heart of the financial bubble blown up in the year 2000. In this paper, we analyse the main features of this financial crisis and their implications on the relevant industries and on the whole economy. Our primary aim is to highlight the causal relationships and feedbacks between the evolution of the regulatory framework and industry structures on the one side, and the turbulence of financial markets, on the other side. We believe that one of the most important real effects of the financial crisis is related to slowing the pace of market competition progress. This may be due to underestimating the structural entry barriers in these industries while financial markets flourished. Now, incumbents have strong incentives to pursue anti-competitive strategies and there is a not negligible chance that the liberalization process will fail. In this framework, this paper analyses entry strategies based on unbundling and discusses the regulatory and antitrust policies necessary to prevent these negative outcomes.