arges, 2004 Destination 1 minute USD + tax Destination 1 minute USD + tax Australia 0.019 Canada (Mobile) 0.019 France 0.019 Korea (Mobile) 0.066 Italy 0.019 Japan (Mobile) Japan 0.022 France (Mobile) 0.184 Korea 0.027 Spain (Mobile) 0.263 Finland 0.033 Italy (Mobile) 0.281 Turkey 0.125 OECD (average for countries with receiving party pays) 0.037 OECD average 0.031 OECD (average for countries with calling party pays) Sources: SKYPE/OECD, Communications Outlook 2005. What we see is an enormous cut in operator margins, with Skype prices across the OECD being on average 20% of international call PSTN operator prices. 27 Microeconomic effects of inflation Economic factors in affecting both OECD and developing nations are taking a larger dimension as oil prices rise under the influence of global conflict and natural disasters, against a background of generally rapid housing price inflation globally. Inflation in housing in the OECD group of countries and in INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 - © OECD 2006 2. TELECOMS INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030 certain parts of the developing world will influence both spending patterns and the likelihood of a recession if the housing bubble bursts. Economies are increasingly consumerist and as such are increasingly vulnerable to swings in the housing market as it is used as a mechanism for consumer-stored wealth and as collateral for consumer loans. The use of MBOs (mortgage backed obligations) has turned the housing loan market in some countries into a securitised market. Where those instruments are traded as CDOs (collateralised debt obligations) they may enter the derivatives market used by hedge funds, SO that microeconomic issues may become macroeconomic problems in the event of a downturn, as Japan's continuing recession has shown. Housing prices thus limit consumer spending on other items, such as telecommunications services, despite the fact that household expenditure on communication services has been the fastest growing ite