Privatization In The Developing World [antikvár]

Preface The mounting financial problems faced by countries of the developing world over the past decade have forced many governments to consider reducing the role of the state in economic activity by divestment to the private sector of enterprises operated by the government. The growing acceptance of privatization derives in part from the gradual ideological change that has taken place in many countries since independence from colonial rule and in part from external pressures for reform that have been applied by bilateral and international donor agencies. The examples of successful privatization as a means of achieving higher productivity and lower costs in the industrialized world have not been lost on the developing countries. But perhaps the strongest driving force has been that more governments are facing the reality that, unless subsidy costs to money-losing industries are drastically reduced, the financial burden they create will become unsustainable. With broader acceptance of privatization has come increased knowledge of the process it entails and greater sophistication in dealing with the problems that it may present for the governments. The initial concentration on divestment of industries has given way to greater attention to privatizating in other sectors of the economy, most particularly in agriculture and in the services formerly made available to the public by the government alone. This combination of a greater understanding of the advantages to be gained from privatization and its wider application has led to a "second phase" in the privatizing process. No longer is it necessary to present the concept of privatizing to government officials in the third world nor to argue its philosophical merits; such knowledge can increasingly be taken for granted. Rather, the concerns of governments focus more specifically on acquiring a detailed knowledge of the "how-to" of privatizing. These concerns include, among others, preparation of the firms for eventual disposition; more realistic valuation by the governments, in the light of current market conditions, of the industries they seek to sell to