Understanding Privatisation Policy: Political Economy and Welfare Effects – UPP
Privatization is one of the main events of the economic history of the last decades. The privatization record to date is impressive, both in developed and developing economies. Despite the relevance of the process and the extensive research recently carried out, several aspects of privatization such as its determinants, methods, and economic and social implications warrant a systematic analysis and research efforts.
Privatization is one of the main events of the economic history of the last decades. The privatization record to date is impressive, both in developed and developing economies. Despite the relevance of the process and the extensive research recently carried out, several aspects of privatization such as its determinants, methods, and economic and social implications warrant a systematic analysis and research efforts. Given the relevance of privatization policy in the European context and in the markets for the services of general interest (SGI), it is imperative to analyse the record of privatization and understand the causes behind failures in order to improve the process in the future.
The gradual shift from State to private ownership of productive assets has been a distinguishing phenomenon occurring in the last two decades in several European countries, and the cornerstone policy of the transition to a market economy in virtually all new accession countries. A thorough investigation of why and how governments have privatized SGI, and to what extent privatization yielded the desired outcomes in terms of competitiveness, economic growth and social progress is key to design future privatization processes and complementary policies, including liberalisation and regulation. The research output of the project has tackled the different aspects in sequence.