Privatization in Austria: Some Theoretical Reasons and First Results About the Privatization Proceeds
72 Pages Posted: 2 Mar 2004
Date Written: January 2004
Abstract
The issues of privatization (and sometimes deregulation) have been reviewed in a large body of literature on the various aspects of privatization, which has emphasized the potential efficiency gains. Hence, the goal of this paper is two-fold: First to provide some theoretical reasoning as to why privatization is both useful as well as profitable for an economy and, second, to empirically present the extent of privatization in Austria and other European Union countries. Therefore, the reasons that make privatization necessary are elaborated. Then the specific pattern of privatization proceeds for Austria relative to other EU and OECD countries is presented. Moreover, some important idiosyncratic extensions for the Austrian case are elaborated. We argue that in the Austrian case, any discussion of privatization cannot be reduced to observing cash flows, the employment performance and the stock-exchange ratings of the privatized formerly state-owned enterprises. Since polito-economic aspects relating to income distribution and ideology play an important role in explaining the way, the extent, the speed and the economic effects of privatization, they have to be considered as well.
Keywords: Austria, partisan approach, privatization, state-owned enterprises, public choice.
JEL Classification: H42, E62, L33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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