The Privatization Initiatives of the 1980s

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Privatization is not a new phenomenon and has been affecting governments both positively and negatively for many years. Privatization is the process in which a government will sell a state owned enterprise and assets to be privately owned and operated. “The United Kingdom, under the Thatcher government, ushered in the era of privatization in the early 1980s.” (pg3) “The focus on privatization is rooted in the ideological belief that competitive markets are the most efficient actors capable of distributing resources and producing goods.” The sale of assets in the first decade of privatization generated more than £15 billion of revenue for the government. (pg3) “Following the perceived success of the British program, many other countries began privatization initiatives beginning in the late 1980s, and many are still ongoing. “ (pg3) “Canada carried out a number of privatization initiatives between 1983 and 1997. During this period 31 complete or partial privatizations of federal Crown corporations or mixed-ownership enterprises occurred.” (pg3) some of these have been successful, while most have not seen positive results from transferring over the SOE to the private sector.
The most straightforward theoretical support for privatization comes in the form of the neoliberal theory. The advocates of less government intervention into the affairs of the economy and development no doubt support privatized, free-market enterprises. Neoliberals believe that the only kind of market failure that should be corrected by the state is the provision of pure public goods such as national defense and tax collection (pg 27) Any public good that can be provided by the market, they argue should be provided by it. (pg 27) “This philosophy emerged...

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...uld have modernized, saved money and kept the contract in the public sector. By 1995, Philip Utility Management Company had fulfilled one half of the promises stipulated in its 1994 proposal. For instance, the company did locate its head office in Hamilton. Instead, however, of the company building new offices as promised, it refurbished part of an existing building. The company also invested nearly $6.5 million in the region, although it had promised to invest $15 million. Further, the company created only 100 jobs, not the 150 promised.

Works Cited

http://www.questia.com/read/1G1-190052131/when-markets-fail-to-deliver-an-examination-of-the http://www.opseu.org/epicfail/pdf/2014-02-privatization-booklet.pdf -pg
The Political Economy of Canada: Michael howlett, alex netherton, m. ramesh

http://www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/investing/reports/rp22.pdf
Privatization:

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