Open AccessV. V. Rananadham (ed) Privatization in Developing Countries. London: Routledge. 1989. Price: £ 40.00 (Hardbound Edition).
Author(s) -
Mir Annice Mahmood
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
pakistan development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.154
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0030-9729
DOI - 10.30541/v29i1pp.102-104
Subject(s) - inefficiency , developing country , criticism , poverty , government (linguistics) , control (management) , power (physics) , developed country , private sector , public sector , business , economics , economic policy , economic growth , market economy , economy , political science , management , population , sociology , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , law , demography
The post-World War II era has witnessed the establishment ofpublic enterprises in many of the developing as well as developedcountries. Primarily, there were the economic and social objectivesbehind the establishment of such enterprises. It was felt, particularlyin the developing countries, that through the medium of publicenterprises it was possible to control the "commanding heights" of theeconomy, such as heavy industry (iron and steel, power, fuels, etc.). Itwas perceived that such public control over the directly productiveresources in the economy would lead to faster development. Socially,such enterprises were also expected to provide greater employmentopportunities and thereby help in reducing the level of poverty in thedeveloping countries. Some forty years on, it has become apparent thatpublic enterprises, far from promoting development, were actually actingas a brake on it. One general criticism, among many others, levelled atsuch enterprises included the charge of economiC inefficiency. Thus, toovercome this criticism, a new term, 'privatization' was coined in theearly Eighties. The term may be defined in a broad sense as thetransforming of the ownership of assets from public or governmentcontrol to private hands.