Bureaucrats in Business: The Economics and Politics of Government Ownership (World Bank Policy Research Report) [Paperback]

World Bank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0195211065 | ISBN-13: 978-0195211061

Despite more than a decade of privatization, state-owned enterprises account for nearly as large a share of developing countries' economies today as twenty years ago. Often inefficient government firms and the resulting deficits hinder growth, making it harder for people to escape poverty. Drawing on extensive data and detailed case studies, this report shows students how divestiture and other reforms can improve the economy, and why politics often impedes reform. It also focuses on how successfully reformed countries have overcome such obstacles. The authors analyze three types of company contracts: performance contracts between a government and a public manager, management contracts between a government and the private manager of a government firm, and regulatory contracts between a government and a privatized, regulated monopoly. The authors then study the reasons why so few countries have reformed, and conclude with a final chapter that draws on these findings to present detailed guidance on how to reform state-owned enterprises successfully.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Absolutely first-rate....I have never seen anybody before lay out as clearly and as concisely the nature of the political problems involved in making changes of this kind."--Douglass North, Nobel Laureate, Washington University

About the Author

The World Bank Group is a group of five international organizations responsible for providing finance and advice to countries for the purposes of economic development and poverty reduction, and for encouraging and safeguarding international investment. The group and its affiliates have their headquarters in Washington, D.C., with local offices in 124 member countries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 366 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195211065
• ISBN-13: 978-0195211061
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,494,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)