Privatization which refers to the transition of ownership and management of state-owned enterprises to the private sector, is one of the main drivers of economic prosperity. In this paper, the performance of the state, private, and privatized banks have been compared through examining the effects of privatization in the banking system on its performance. The data from 11 banks during the 13-yea...

The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends against privatization of alcohol retail sales in settings with current government control of retail sales, based on strong evidence that privatization results in increased per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages, a well-established proxy for excessive consumption and related harms.

Confidence Building in Emerging Stock Markets* Investor confidence in reliable property rights and stable, market-oriented policies are a necessary condition for financial integration and the development of emerging stock markets. Announced market-oriented policies may be reversed, however, and are initially not fully credible. We argue that sustained privatization and liberalization programmes...

State socialist economies provided public housing to urban citizens at nominal cost, while allocating larger and better quality apartments to individuals in elite occupations. In transitions to a market economy, ownership is typically transferred to existing occupants at deeply discounted prices, making home equity the largest component of household wealth. Housing privatization is therefore a ...

The supposed failure of privatization in Latin America has recently become the source of street riots, protest demonstrations, and adverse news coverage. Riots in Arequipa, Peru, erupted in June 2002 following the announcement of a proposal to privatize power plants, while Cochabamba, Bolivia, witnessed a so-called water war in April 2000. Antiprivatization protests also occurred recently in Ec...

This paper reviews the Latin American experience with highway privatization during the last decade. Using evidence from Argentina, Colombia and Chile, we find that private financing of new highways freed up fewer public resources than expected because public funds were often diverted to bail out franchise holders. Furthermore, our review of the evidence suggests that pervasive contract renegoti...