Privatization and Deregulation in Global Perspective

(Hardback)

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In this volume the leading scholars and practitioners in the field provide a comprehensive, in-depth examination of trends in privatization throughout the world. Focusing primarily on the experiences of seventeen countries--including developing countries, advanced industrial nations, and socialist states--the book explores theoretical approaches toward the issues inherent in privatization and deregulation, specifies techniques for successful privatization, and examines the cost-benefits and limits of privatization policies. The contributors then present a series of twenty detailed case studies which assess the actual problems and prospects associated with privatization and deregulation policy choices across varied sociopolitical systems and a range of economic sectors. The result is the most extensive comparative public policy analysis yet published on the subject of privatization and deregulation. Following an introductory overview which addresses the interaction between privatization, deregulation and market liberalization within both developed and developing country policy environments, the contributors discuss the philosophical bases of privatization policies, examine the seminal experiences of Britain and the United States, and identify factors responsible for successful privatization efforts. This is followed by case studies of privatization in such sectors as finance, transportation, health care, housing, and telecommunications around the world. After special sectoral studies of developing country finance, debt-equity conversions, and international air transport, the authors successively survey the experience of privatization in selected Latin American, Caribbean, West African and Asian developing nations; in the advanced industrial nations of Canada, France, New Zealand, and Sweden; and in the socialist countries of China, Hungary, and Poland. In their conclusion, the editors discuss the immediate implications of the contributors' findings and suggest research directions for the future. Numerous explanatory tables and figures are included, making this an ideal supplemental text for courses in business, government, and public policy.

Reviews

An illuminating introductory essay by the editors and an excellent bibliography are the highlights of this compendium of articles on privatization. Despite the title, only 7 of the 28 articles deal with deregulation. The authors of the individual selections are primarily academics, but they come from a broad range of disciplines and their varying backgrounds account for approaches that vary from journalistic to theoretical and essay lengths that range from 6 to 21 pages. Eighteen of the articles are country studies, with the continents being more or less evenly represented; ten articles are more general in focus. Eight of the country studies relate to specific economic sectors, whereas the remainder are national in scope. Consequently, as with all such compilations, readers will be most rewarded by approaching the book as dim sum rather than by attempting to digest the entire meal. Public and academic library collections, community college through upper division.-Choice
"An illuminating introductory essay by the editors and an excellent bibliography are the highlights of this compendium of articles on privatization. Despite the title, only 7 of the 28 articles deal with deregulation. The authors of the individual selections are primarily academics, but they come from a broad range of disciplines and their varying backgrounds account for approaches that vary from journalistic to theoretical and essay lengths that range from 6 to 21 pages. Eighteen of the articles are country studies, with the continents being more or less evenly represented; ten articles are more general in focus. Eight of the country studies relate to specific economic sectors, whereas the remainder are national in scope. Consequently, as with all such compilations, readers will be most rewarded by approaching the book as dim sum rather than by attempting to digest the entire meal. Public and academic library collections, community college through upper division."-Choice

Author Bio

DENNIS J. GAYLE is Director of International Affairs and Associate Professor of Business, Department of Marketing and Environment, College of Business Administration, Florida International University. He is the author of The Small Developing State: Comparing Political Economies in Costa Rica, Singapore, and Jamaica (1986). JONATHAN N. GOODRICH is Associate Professor of Marketing, Department of Marketing and Environment, College of Business Administration, Florida International University. He is the author of The Commercialization of Outer Space: Opportunities and Obstacles for American Business (Greenwood Press, 1989).