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Published: 02 April 2018 This article provides evidence on the decision of consumers to move from an "old" (copper-based) to a "new" (fiber-based) broadband technology, taking into account the impact of regulatory interventions imposed on the old technology. The analysis in this article has been applied to a sample of EU25 (25 European Union member states) countries using panel data from 2003 to 2015 on the adoption of fiber-based broadband technology by households and firms. Results show that an increase in the regulated price for accessing the old network favors consumer adoption of the new technology. In particular, we find that an increase in the unbundling price of 10% increases fiber-based adoption in the range of 0.7%-1%. Our results also provide insights on the take-up rate of the new technology, i.e. on the ratio between adopted and deployed fiber-based services and networks. By comparing the quantitative effects of regulation, we find that an increase in the access price decreases the take-up rate, meaning that the impact on fiber coverage is stronger than on fiber adoption.

Migrant care work in private households has become an important, but often illegal source of long-term care provision in several European countries. The 2007 reform of “24-hour care work” in Austria was a comprehensive attempt to regularize previously illegal arrangements. Building on in-depth interviews with migrant care workers from Slovakia and Bulgaria, this article explores the impacts of the legalization for their decisions to work in this sector, for social protection, career plans, and working conditions. It is argued that the reform was successful in terms of take-up and providing social protection, while career and working conditions remain highly precarious.