State monopoly
State monopoly means that a state or another regional authority acts as the sole supplier of a product or service, so it is usually a supplier monopoly . State monopolies are usually regulated by law, but can also arise if other providers have no interest in selling the product or if they would not be competitive.
Reasons for state monopolies
- In historical times, state monopolies were mostly aimed at reserving income from a certain (mostly profitable) branch of industry for the state or for the ruler (s ) (see regalia ).
- State monopolies can serve to regulate the trade in problematic products (e.g. addictive substances such as alcohol and tobacco, gambling and sports betting ). In these cases, critics often object that this leads to a conflict of interests because the state should have an interest in the health of the population on the one hand, but is interested in the financial gain from the monopoly and thus in the sale of these products on the other.
- State monopolies for infrastructure and general resources, e.g. B. line-bound supply services (electricity, gas, water) and similar cases (e.g. railways) are justified in part by the fact that a free market cannot be established because the establishment of parallel structures by several providers does not make sense ( natural monopoly ) . For these services, the state (or a regional authority, e.g. state, city, municipality) also takes responsibility for quality and security of supply.
- In some cases, state monopolies are also justified with the pursuit of social justice , for example in the case of state health insurance with income-related contributions or fee exemptions or reductions for socially disadvantaged population groups. Even without such income-dependent components, a chargeable service provided by the state could bring about social compensation if this service would otherwise be disproportionately expensive for certain population groups (i.e. at market prices) (e.g. remote location for line-based services and public transport, state of health for insurance services ).
State monopolies versus privatization
In the course of economic liberalization , state monopolies have increasingly been abandoned and the sectors previously operated by the state or public-private partnerships have been privatized .
Critics of the state monopolies claim that state monopolies are inefficient because the state is not under any competitive pressure. A lack of willingness to innovate and often poor service are also criticized .
On the other hand, arguments in favor of state monopolies are a possible deterioration in quality and security in many cases of privatization of previously state-provided services (e.g. railways and water supply in Great Britain, electricity supply in California); In addition, the interests of private investors are not in optimal customer care, but in making profits. This is countered by the fact that in a competitive market economy every private investor must endeavor to offer optimal products and services. The negative examples cited are an expression of political failure , because it is the task of politics to ensure that competition between different providers is formed. Furthermore, companies that are only managed from an economic point of view are often not interested in offering their services nationwide; this is particularly a problem when it comes to supplying remote areas in rural areas.
It is also stated that in democracies state monopolies are subject to democratic control, in other words to the judgment of the population entitled to vote, in contrast to privately run companies. Therefore, the political decision-makers should be interested in a cheap and best possible supply of the population through the state monopoly. The competition between different political groups thus to a certain extent replaces economic competition in the market. Others point to the direct democratic control exercised by the consumer, who is free to choose the cheapest and best possible product or service. In addition, practice shows that state monopolies by no means bring about the cheapest and best possible supply of the population.
In order to guarantee quality and security of supply in privatized areas where competition between different providers is impossible or difficult ( market failure ), as well as to regulate prices in cases where there is no competition, z. B. used so-called regulatory authorities . The transformation of a former state monopoly (natural monopoly) into a private quasi-monopoly ( cable television network in Germany).
Examples of state monopolies
Letter monopoly : It was not until 2011 that the monopoly of the state postal companies or administrations in the EU fell on the delivery of letters , ie compact, lightweight items that cannot be regarded as parcels . In Austria , the new legal provisions for the carriage of letters have been made protectionist , so that new companies entering the market e.g. B. confronted with problems such as the basic supply (ie serving economically unattractive / unprofitable areas) or the compensation of the so-called house mailbox systems. After no other company entered the Austrian market, Austrian Post increased its mail rates massively in May 2011.
Long-distance transport monopoly : In 2013, the long-distance rail transport monopoly in Germany was lifted. In the following years there was a boom in long-distance bus traffic , from which Flixbus emerged as by far the largest provider. This development has provoked criticism on the one hand (environmental pollution, working conditions), on the other hand it has revitalized the industry . The cheaper travel offers sometimes lead to strange situations. The Swiss authorities threatened to punish the German bus companies if Swiss passengers fail to comply with the domestic operating ban. These passengers buy tickets for cross-border trips, but get off again without permission within Switzerland. The cross-border long-distance bus tickets are dirt cheap compared to the national tickets of Swiss transport companies.
Broadcasting monopoly: In terms of democratic politics, the monopoly in the area of the media is particularly worrying . In Austria , the state monopoly on radio and television was justified with the argument of the state's educational mandate, whereby the above-mentioned reasons, such as state income, but also influencing the population in the interests of the respective governing parties, were obviously in the foreground. The end of the state radio monopoly was scheduled for 1996. Due to legal disputes, the licensing procedure was interrupted, so that almost all private radio stations could not begin broadcasting until 1998. The long adherence to the monopoly led to private Austrian radio operators broadcasting from neighboring countries in the 1990s. In the east of the country (and thus receivable in Vienna ) were Radio CD ( Slovakia ) and Antenne Austria ( Hungary ). In contrast to the state radio of the ORF (3 nationwide and 9 regional stations), there were only private regional stations (up to the start of regular DAB + broadcasting in addition to the analogue stations from the end of May 2019) whose broadcast was limited to the federal state in question. The television monopoly existed until 2003, when a single private broadcaster, ATV + , was approved nationwide. Until then, there were only so-called cable stations that technically did not fall under the broadcasting monopoly and did not broadcast a full program.
literature
- Peter Badura : The administrative monopoly. Berlin, Duncker & Humblot, 1963.
Individual evidence
- ↑ see letter monopoly only falls in 2011 , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online), https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/spaeter-als-geplant-briefmonopol-faellt-erst-2011-1488986.html
- ↑ see Postmarktgesetz, http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFnahm/Bundesnormen/20006582/PMG%2c%20Fnahm%20vom%2015.06.2019.pdf
- ↑ see Post competition looks different , Wiener Zeitung (online), https://www.wienerzeitung.at/nachrichten/wirtschaft/international/28110_Post-Wettbewerb-sicht-anders-aus.html , new postal tariffs , consumer (online) , https://www.konsument.at/neueposttarife
- ↑ see 3000 francs fine: Federal fines Flixbus , Handelszeitung (online), https://www.handelszeitung.ch/politik/3000-franken-strafe-bund-buesst-flixbus-1363195#
- ↑ see 5 years of private radio in Austria , Rundfunk- und Telekom-Regulierungs-GmbH, https://www.rtr.at/de/inf/SchriftenreiheNr012003/2202_5JahrePrivatradio.pdf
- ↑ see more radio for Austria - digital radio DAB + starts nationally , https://dabplus.at/2019/01/22/mehr-radio-fuer-oesterreich-digitalradio-dab-startet-national/