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Copyright of Revista Enfoques: Ciencia Política y Administración Pública is the property of Universidad Central de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We examine the impact of political, institutional, and economic factors on the choice between selling a state-owned enterprise in the public capital market through a share issue privatization (SIP) and selling it in the private capital market in an asset sale. SIPs are more likely in less developed capital markets, for more profitable state-owned enterprises, and where there are more protections of minority shareholders. Asset sales are more likely when there is less state control of the economy and when the firm is smaller. Our results suggest the importance of privatization activities in developing the equity markets of privatizing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging countries are using privatization as a key strategy in their drive to become free market economies. Although these ownership changes are rapidly gaining prominence, the academic literature has been equivocal about the performance benefits of private vs. state ownership. The lack of clarity in findings can be largely traced to the underspecification of the models that prior studies have examined. Specifically, prior studies have mostly ignored the central role of competitive rivalry. This paper proposes a model that centers around the interactive, inseparable effects of ownership and competitive rivalry on firm performance. Results of the empirical examination set in India show that competitive intensity moderates the relationship between ownership and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical criterion for establishing privatization priorities for state-owned enterprises. The approach uses firm performance, defined as productive efficiency, as the basis for deciding the sequence in which firms are privatized. Sequencing is relevant because the order in which state enterprises are taken up for privatization has efficiency implications, and an appropriate sequence based on such efficiency considerations can be beneficial. Privatizing inefficient enterprises before efficient ones is a superior first-best sequence as compared to on which reverses this order, and the size of the firms to be privatized is an important contingency. An improvement index is constructed for individual firms, and the index makes possible a comparison of multiple firms, thus facilitating the construction of a priority schedule.

Economic and political imperatives of the 1980s have seen governments turn to private sector managerial techniques, practices and orientations to enable them to deliver services more efficiently and effectively. Among these is marketing which has received increasing attention as governments have looked to privatize, corporatize or simply introduce some level of "user-pays" principle into their operations. Despite the ambitious claims of the marketing discipline, the transposition of marketing to the public sector has not proved to be without problems. This paper reviews why such a transposition might be difficult. It also reviews the claim of marketing to be an appropriate discipline at all for widespread application in the public sector. The paper concludes that marketers should be cautious as to the extent to which their discipline can be transposed or modified to assist governments identity, plan, deliver and evaluate services more efficiently and effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes the main phases of the long-term process of rise and fall of state-owned enterprise (SOE) in the Western world. It focuses first on the waves of nationalization that occurred in the last century, addressing the major motives that explained them. Next, moving from the changing environment that opened the way toward the rush to privatization of the last two decades, it dwells on the quantitative dimension of the de-nationalization phenomenon and offers some thoughts on its consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the privatization of China's township enterprises. Indication that the performance of firms with new owners that paid a price for the firm that exceeded the book value of its assets is on par with the performance of private firms after privatization since they also received strong incentives.

Results comparing academic employees (n = 176) across four occupations (college administrators, faculty, librarians, and clerical workers) indicated that college administrators and professors were highest on career identity and job involvement, while clerical workers reported the lowest job satisfaction, career planning, and intentions-to-remain in careen Though discriminant analysis revealed that professors were more identified with their careers than administrators, college administrators were higher on career planning, intentions-to-remain in career, and career resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to examine some of the concerns and challenges of privatization as a strategy for rethinking government economic intervention in the economy and for rebalancing public/private sector relationships. Specifically, this article focuses on the case of sub-Saharan Africa. The article examines the concept of privatization in terms of its objectives and explores its theoretical framework and underlying assumptions. The nature of growth of state-owned enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa is also examined. The article also explores some factors that aided the growth, and the performance of these enterprises.

Explores the aspects of the apparent tension between the potential efficiency benefits of state-owned enterprises (SOE) reform and the leisurely pace at which change has occurred. Discussion on incentives and efficiency in the privatization concept; Divestiture of SOE; Emergence of privatization policies.

This paper examines the impact of the ‘political contingency’ upon management strategy in New Zealand's newly established public enterprises. It is argued that an unambiguous state strategy of readying the organizations swiftly for privatization gave management a clear mandate for radical restructuring. The coincidence of commercial and political rationality greatly reduced the likelihood of direct political intervention in the operation of the organizations and led to substantial changes to traditional patterns of industrial relations. Variations in management strategy reflected different organizational circumstances rather than differing applications of the political contingency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses key issues concerning the role of the government as a major owner of industrial and commercial assets in Great Britain and concerns that the selling price of companies to be privatized should reflect the value of the assets concerned. Key issues discussed include the market factors influencing stocks and securities, the levels of capital spending in the public sector, government ownership of nationalized businesses and the issues' implications for government investments and public finance in Great Britain.

The article discusses key issues concerning some radical options for rethinking the government's privatization program and subjecting government corporations to competition in Great Britain in 1983. Key issues discussed include the reorganization of the operation of public transport services, several changes in the ownership of government business enterprises, government control of the transport and communications utilities and the issues' implications for public administration in Great Britain.

The article discusses key issues concerning the buyout of privatized government corporations and business enterprises by their employees in Great Britain in 1983. Key issues discussed include the state of worker cooperatives and the opportunities for employee buyouts of government-controlled companies, the key stipulations of the Finance Act of 1983 that gave statutory recognition for a new class of employee-controlled companies, sample cases on the issue and its implications for privatization and worker buyouts. INSETS: Possible Ownership Changes;Trade Union Objections.

The article discusses key issues concerning a method short of full-scale privatization that will allow nationalized industries to raise money while remaining subject to financial controls in Great Britain in 1982. Key issues discussed include the key features of the method, an overview of the government's current investment and financing controls, the absence of a large demand on the part of nationalized industries for capital investments and the issues' implications for public finance and public administration. INSET: Railways and Electricity Supply.

The article discusses key issues concerning the privatization of the National Freight Corp. in Great Britain in 1982. Key issues discussed include background information on National Freight and the privatization program for the government corporation, the opportunities offered by the government for employees to become part-owners of the firm, the confidence expressed by banking firms in the proposed privatization deal, financing sources for the buy-out and the motives behind employees' desire to become part-owners of National Freight.

The article examines the decision by the British Government to terminate the retailing activities and sell the existing showrooms of the British Gas Corp. The company is currently the major retailer of most appliances that depend on the fuel that it is selling. Sally Oppenheim, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, has argued that the proposal has to do with a fair-trading issue. The Corporation itself opposes the move, arguing that the government is acting more on the basis of political issues rather than on the technical aspects of the case. It appears that the British Government is right in its decision because other alternatives would have a much slower effect in improving competition. INSET: Selling Off The Showrooms: what the interested parties have said.

The article discusses key issues concerning labor unions' opinions and views on the accountability of nationalized industries in Great Britain in 1983. Key issues discussed include the government's policies and intentions towards the industrial public sector, the emphasis by trade unions on competition in the public sector, the privatization and transfer of state-owned businesses to independent ownership and the issues' implications for government business enterprises and public administration in Great Britain.

The article discusses privatization trends in China. The inefficiency of government-owned enterprises is discussed. Economic advantages of privatization are cited. The need to privatize commercial banks are examined. Strategies to convert state owned enterprises to private companies are also discussed.

Focuses on the decision of President Bingu wa Mutharika for the immediate suspension of the controversial privatization of the state-run Malawi Telecommunications Ltd. in Malawi. Objection of the firm's chairman of the board Ken Msonda on the proposed price of the sale; Accusations of Msonda against the Privatization Commission on the alleged price fixing; Terms and provisions of the sale of the telecommunications firm.

The article discusses key issues concerning proposals for the privatization of the telecommunications company British Telecom PLC in Great Britain in 1983. Key issues discussed include inconsistencies in the British government's policies towards British Telecom, an examination of the break-up of American Telephone and Telegraph in the U.S. that provides ample evidence for arguments that the British government may have seriously underestimated the difficulties of regulating British Telecom and the issue's implications for competition in the telecommunications sector.

The article reports that Algeria's Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem announced the privatization of thirty percent of the Local Development Bank (BDL) as part of an effort to reorganize the loss-making government corporations and government business enterprises. Groups of American, Spanish, and French investors expressed interest in the privatization of 51 percent of the Credit Populaire d'Algérie (CPA) savings bank. Foreign banks might be discouraged from participating in the Local Development Bank privatization because of unexplained delays in previous privatization projects.

Reports that government workers in Burkina Faso have expressed concerns about job layoffs and increased costs resulting from the privatization of state-owned companies. General Confederation of Workers of Burkina's demand for an end to privatization of state-run companies; Workers' dissatisfaction with the way negotiations on privatizations between government and unions have taken place; Government's claims regarding the growth of investments in the privatized companies between 1991 and 2003.

The article discusses key issues concerning the plans of the government to privatize British Telecom PLC in 1984. Key issues discussed include the challenges facing the government in selling off the telecommunication firm, the government's options in privatizing British Telecom, market pressures to privatize the firm, market analysts' views on the stocks of British Telecom and the effects of reductions in corporation tax made in the budget that would have encouraged companies to come to market to raise equity themselves.

The article discusses key issues concerning the outlook for public sector unions in Great Britain in 1983. Key issues discussed include little evidence indicating solid support for State services against the privatization of government-controlled business enterprises, the failure of public sector unions to identify in the public mind their own interests with the preservation of State services, the likelihood of mobilizing public support for them and optimism on public opinion towards public sector unions.