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The Effects of Privatization and Ownership in Transition Economies

Author Info

  • Saul Estrin
  • Jan Hanousek
  • Evzen Kocenda
  • Jan Svejnar

Abstract

In this paper, we evaluate what we have learned to date about the effects of privatization from the experiences during the last fifteen to twenty years in the postcommunist (transition) economies and, where relevant, China. We distinguish separately the impact of privatization on efficiency, profitability, revenues, and other indicators and distinguish between studies on the basis of their econometric methodology in order to focus attention on more credible results. The effect of privatization is mostly positive in Central Europe, but quantitatively smaller than that to foreign owners and greater in the later than earlier transition period. In the Commonwealth of Independent States, privatization to foreign owners yields a positive or insignificant effect while privatization to domestic owners generates a negative or insignificant effect. The available papers on China find diverse results, with the effect of nonstate ownership on total factor productivity being mostly positive but sometimes insignificant or negative.

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File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jel.47.3.699
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Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal Journal of Economic Literature.

Volume (Year): 47 (2009)
Issue (Month): 3 (September)
Pages: 699-728

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Handle: RePEc:aea:jeclit:v:47:y:2009:i:3:p:699-728
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jel.47.3.699
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Keywords:

Find related papers by JEL classification:

  • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
  • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
  • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
  • P24 - Economic Systems - - Socialist Systems and Transition Economies - - - National Income, Product, and Expenditure; Money; Inflation
  • P31 - Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions

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  1. Privatizacija PTKM – “There you go again”
    by cronomy in Cronomy on 2012-04-22 16:42:41
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