Privatization and Natural Monopoly: The Case of Waterworks
The Privatization Review, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 1987
8 Pages Posted: 14 Mar 2013
Abstract
In Britain, one of the largest single privatization efforts in history is now underway. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government intends to privatize the nation's waterworks, selling off the ten government-owned firms (each of which holds a monopoly in its region) serving England and Wales. The receipts from a public offering of the waterworks might exceed the $9 billion generated by the December, 1986 sale of British Gas, the country's natural gas utility. This would make the waterworks privatization the world's largest-ever stock offering.
Keywords: Steve Hanke, Waterworks, Natural Monopoly, Privatization Review, Margaret Thatcher, Stock Offering
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