This volume summarizes the presentations at a two-day World Bank conference on the welfare effects of privatization, held in Washington, D.C., on June 11-12, 1992.

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Foreword -- About the contributors -- Pt. 1. The context: 1. Overview / Ahmed Galal and Mary Shirley -- 2. A changing course toward privatization / Lawrence H. Summers -- 3. Privatization: lessons from New Zealand / Roger Douglas -- Pt. 2. Approach and case studies: 4. Questions and approaches to answers / Leroy Jones -- 5. The United Kingdom / Ingo Vogelsang -- 6. Chile / Ahmed Galal -- 7. Mexico / Pankaj Tandon -- 8. Malaysia / Leroy Jones -- Pt. 3. Synthesis and policy implications: 9. Winners and losers in privatization / Leroy Jones -- 10. Policy implications / Ahmed Galal -- 11. The Jigsaw puzzle / Nancy Birdsall -- Index

This volume summarizes the presentations at a two-day World Bank conference on the welfare effects of privatization, held in Washington, D.C. on June 11-12, 1992, and attended by some 100 senior policymakers, academics, and advisers from around the world. Its objective was to disseminate the findings of two years of research conducted by the Bank and Boston University analyzing twelve cases of privatization of state-owned enterprises in four countries (United Kingdom, Chile, Mexico, and Malaysia). Research findings in this volume support the view that privatization can bring substantial gains. In eleven of twelve cases, the gains were positive and large, amounting to an average 2.5 percent permanent increase in GDP. Several reasons are given for this outcome and commented on by many of the participants. For one thing, all the countries regulated the private monopolies in ways that reduced or eliminated the chances to exploit consumers. For another, the shift to private ownership allowed other beneficial changes to occur: an increase in investment, a rise in prices toward levels that reflect scarcity values, greater productivity thanks to managerial effort, better marketing and diversification, and the freedom to shed excess labor. The volume concludes by assessing policy implications and by calling for further research, particularly on the implications for poor economies and the former command economies, which may be in a low-level equilibrium unconducive to privatization.