The Challenges Of Privatization

From 1997 to 2001, more than 4,000 privatization operations have been carried out in more than 100 countries, bringing in government revenues of over 1,362 billion dollars. The phenomenon, which grew exponentially at the end of the 1990s and then abruptly slowed down, had dramatic consequences on the performance of state-owned enterprises and a significant impact on industrialized countries, as well as emerging and less developed economies. Yet there have been surprisingly fewattempts to provide a systematic empirical account of the privatization process at the worldwide level.Why do governments privatize? Why do some countries accomplish large-scale privatization programmes, and others never privatize at all? Is privatization a trend or a cycle? Furthermore, how do governments privatize? Do governments really transfer ownership and control of state-owned enterprises or does private ownership tend to coexist with public control?This book provides some answers to these important questions trying to test research hypotheses set forth by the recent economic theory of privatization.Comprehensive cross-country empirical analyses carried out over a period of more than twenty years are used in the book to show that privatization has taken place all over the world, sometimes spontaneously, more often under the pressure of economic and budgetary constraints. Several of the goals of the privatization have been met, but despite proclamations and programmes, only a small minority of countries has carried out a genuine privatization process, completely transferring ownership ofstate-owned enterprises to the private sector. A lack of political will is to some extent at the root of this reluctance. However this reluctance can be traced back partly to structural factors that would make an orderly privatization difficult, such as the absence of developed capital markets,appropriate regulation, and suitable institutions.

Becker (policy and management, Florida International University) begins with an overview of the problems to be discussed, including propriety, legitimacy, political feasibility, administration challenges, and negative impacts associated with privatization. He goes on to discuss these issues in detail, with particular attention to the expanding scope of privatization, the types of organizations suited to perform the work of government, the dynamics of public- private partnerships, and recommendations for correcting the negative effects suffered by the providers and recipients of privatized services. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.

This book discusses the essential strategic, legal, economic, and institutional issues relating to privatization of state-owned enterprises, with an emphasis on the policy dimensions of privatization. Special attention is given to issues arising in the context of liberalization and privatization of the telecommunications and other infrastructure sectors. The author draws on experiences of countries in all regions to illustrate the dynamic character of privatization. He demonstrates the complexity of the problems that can arise during this process, examines the relevance of available solutions, and provides useful reference points for policymakers, executives, and advisors. Annexes list legislation from more than 100 countries and 500 bibliographic references, as well as specialized journals and Internet resources on privatization.

The privatization of large state-owned enterprises is one of the most radical policy developments of the last quarter century. Right-wing governments have privatized in an effort to decrease the size of government, while left-wing governments have privatized either to compensate for the failures of state-owned firms or to generate revenues. In this way, privatization has spread from Europe to Latin America, from Asia to Africa, reaching its zenith with Central and Eastern Europe's transition from socialism to capitalism. In many countries state ownership has been an important tool in bringing cheap water, energy, and transport to poorer segments of the population. In other instances, it has sponsored aggressive cutbacks, corruption, and cronyism. Privatization: Successes and Failures evaluates the practices and results of privatization in Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Featuring the world's leading economists and experts on privatization, this volume offers a broad and balanced analysis of specific privatization projects and uncovers some surprising trends. Partial privatization, for example, tends to be more widespread than one might think, and the effects of privatization on efficiency are generally mixed but rarely negative. Also, while privatization appears uncontroversial in competitive sectors, it becomes increasingly complex in more monopolistic sectors where good regulation is crucial. Privatization concludes with alternative frameworks for countries in Africa and other regions that seek to develop privatization policy and programs.

Chapter One of Privatization: Policies, Developments and Challenges is to discuss the elements that caused the latest and current problems in the European economies and also, the imposed privatization (expropriation of the public wealth), as the remedy. This crisis started from the US and consequently, it was expanded to all economies of the world due to the systemic risk that globalization has induced to the developed and dependent nations. Thus, this European debt crisis is a crisis of capitalism. Chapter Two analyses different factors that may explain the changes in firms performance after privatization in Europe. The final chapter explores how the American-based agro-industrial company Herakles Farm has thoroughly disregarded state and international laws and codes of conduct in the setting up of its contentious oil palm plantation that is largely located in-between protected areas in the ever-green forest of Southwest Cameroon.

Examining eight case studies on the role of law in various arenas, this collection of essays addresses the reconfiguration of the relations between the state, the market, and the family caused by privatization.