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Privatisation and its limits

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02/2006
 

Don’t overdo it

Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker,
Oran R. Young, Matthias Finger (Eds.):
Limits to privatization.
How to avoid too much of a good thing.

London, Earthscan 2005,
414 pages, £ 24.95, ISBN 1-84407-177-4

Good governance, clear rules and strong regulatory institutions are necessary if privatisation is to be successful. This is the conclusion of Club of Rome’s latest report. More than 50 best- and worst-case examples of privatisation were analysed. Public companies should never be privatised for ideological reasons, advises the book. Where they are doing a good job, they should be allowed to continue doing so. The editors and authors have clearly strived to estimate the value of privatisation in a level-headed, non-ideological manner. The articles are backed up by numerous tables and graphics. (orb)