Privatization
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Privatization is a form of macro-economic restructuring. It is a transformation from state-controlled economic activity to that of the private sector. And, it results from a government policy. This is unlike, say, the Industrial Revolution, which was an evolution from one form of economic activity to another.
There are many forms that privatization can take. Commonly, it is understood to be the conversion of a state-owned enterprise into a share capital corporation and the sale of at least 50% of the shares to the private sector. This can be accomplished by auctions, negotiated sales, stock distributions, increases in the underlying capital base, and so on. However, the concept of privatization is much broader. Beesley and Littlechild (1997) correctly point out that "the underlying idea is to improve industry performance by increasing the role of the market forces". Deregulation of an industry, to reduce the barriers to entry of private sector competitors is one alternative approach...