Routledge Library Editions Public Enterprise And Privatization

Routledge Library Editions: Public Enterprise and Privatization (14 Volume set) presents titles, originally published between 1933 and 1991. The set covers both public enterprise and privatization and the impact they have had in the developed and developing world from the start of the twentieth century through to the early 1990s. Written by key figures in the field, it will be of particular interest to students of business, economics, finance and industry.

Public enterprises have played a central part in the development of all mixed economies in the post-war period, but they are now in a crisis phase. Privatisation has pushed back the level of public enterprise almost throughout the world. Where public enterprises remain, they are being brought under significant reforms. Originally published in 1991, this book presents a comprehensive critique of public enterprise, analysing why its performance has fallen far short of expectations. Part one is concerned with the establishment of public enterprises: the case for them, the circumstances in which they emerged, the extra enterprise objectives attached to them, and the decisions on their investment feasibility and capital structure. Part two looks at the working of public enterprises: the state of their financial performance, the peculiarities of pricing, the determination of targets which they should meet, the continuous monitoring and evaluation of their operations. Macro concerns are the focus of Part three. Among the issues addressed are the level of indirect taxation and subsidisation implicit in the pricing structures of public enterprises, the links between public enterprise and the public exchequer and the implications of their operations for distributional equity. In Part four the extent to which privatisation can solve the problems of public enterprise is discussed. The book ends with some broad conclusions on the future of public enterprise. Throughout, the approach is analytical, but the arguments are supported by extensive examples from both developed and developing economies.

It is widely felt that the public sector in many developing countries is too large, and that privatisation would benefit both the users of individual services and the economy in general. However, enthusiasm for private enterprise solutions is not always matched by the requisite financial and economic technology. The sort of schemes appropriate for a country like China, with its highly planned public sector economy, and Jordan, with its dominant private sector, are unlikely to be the same. Privatisation without reference to these differences will be an economic, administrative and organisational chaos rather than a panacea. Originally published in 1989, this book starts with an analysis on the concept, rationale and fundamental issues of privatisation, with reference to both developed and developing countries. There follows a critical scrutiny of the privatisation programmes of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, written by contributors actively concerned with public enterprise and privatisation at the time. It examines the role of international aid agencies, including the World Bank, in promoting the schemes and it details the positive impact of them as well as their pitfalls. These country accounts are complemented by a concluding chapter giving an overview of the substantial issues raised.

The Conservative’s privatisation programme was one of the most ambitious aspects of their attempt to redraft the political and economic map of the United Kingdom. Originally published in 1988, this book explores the processes of privatisation from a variety of standpoints. Its contributors include academics, enterprise executives and government officials, many of whom had been closely involved in the programme. Fiscal, legal and social aspects of privatisation are explored but the book treats the subject as more than an immediate political issue and takes the opportunity to discuss the success – or otherwise – of public enterprise and to explore the implication of the UK experience for other countries which have an interest in privatisation.

Originally published in 1959, the author has observed at first hand the workings of public enterprise in Britain. He has coupled objectivity with an acute sense of economic perception and has produced a clear and ordered study of the workings of nationalization in industry at the time. His book does not contain an argument on whether nationalization is desirable or not. On the assumption that there is nationalization he attempts to discuss certain important problems raised by it in the fields of management, pricing, resource allocation and public control. He hopes that a discussion of this nature will contribute towards ensuring the most satisfactory results from nationalization.

Originally published in 1984, this book grew out of the papers (and discussions) presented at the Seminar conducted at London Business School during March-June 1983, with a focus on the problems of public enterprise in the context of the developing world. Essentially, three facts of thought emerged: first, on the working of public enterprises in developing countries; second, on joint ventures and consultancies involving public enterprises in the two groups of countries; and third, on the value and relevance of experience of public enterprises in developed countries, particularly in the UK, for the developing countries. Broadly, the Chapter 1 belongs to the first category, Chapters 6 and 7 to the second and Chapters 8 to 13 to the third. The concluding review seeks to highlight some of the major issues that deserve notice in the light of the views expressed in the papers and the discussions that took place on them.

Originally published in 1959, the subject of this book is an aspect of economic development which, despite its importance, had rarely attracted more than incidental attention at the time. The author’s interest in public enterprise in underdeveloped countries was stimulated by a year’s residence in Turkey. He felt the time had come for a general comparative study. Defining comparative as (1) between developed and underdeveloped countries, and (2) between different underdeveloped countries at dissimilar stages of development or with dissimilar development perspectives. The purpose of the first is to discover what the developed can offer the underdeveloped by way of adaptable experience and relevant ideas; that of the second to examine the use of public enterprise in the many different social, economic and political contexts to be found in the less advanced parts of the world.

In both the developed world and the third world public enterprise has come to assume considerable importance in the structure and development of national economies. Originally published in 1984, this book, by an acknowledged international authority on public enterprise, explores this concept in both the major and the developing economies. He analyses how public enterprise functions and demonstrates how it may be integrated into both traditional Western mixed economies and third world economies with a much high level of state control.