IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_1126.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The UK's Privatisation Experiment: The Passage of Time Permits a Sober Assessment

Author

Listed:
  • David Parker

Abstract

This chapter looks at the UK’s privatisation experiment, which began from the late 1970s. It considers the background to the UK’s privatisations, which industries were privatised and how, and summarises the results of studies of performance changes in privatised companies in the UK. It looks at the relative roles of competition, regulation and ownership changes in determining performance improvement. It concludes by looking at the wider lessons that might be learned from the UK’s privatisation experiment, including the importance of developing competitive markets and, in their absence, effective regulatory regimes.

Suggested Citation

  • David Parker, 2004. "The UK's Privatisation Experiment: The Passage of Time Permits a Sober Assessment," CESifo Working Paper Series 1126, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1126
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp1126.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Saundry & Peter Turnbull, 1997. "Private profit, public loss: The financial and economic performance of U.K. ports," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 319-334, January.
    2. Baldwin, Robert & Cave, Martin & Lodge, Martin, 2011. "Understanding Regulation: Theory, Strategy, and Practice," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780199576098.
    3. Boycko, Maxim & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1996. "A Theory of Privatisation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(435), pages 309-319, March.
    4. Saal, David S & Parker, David, 2001. "Productivity and Price Performance in the Privatized Water and Sewerage Companies of England and Wales," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 61-90, July.
    5. D. Parker, 2002. "Economic Regulation: a review of issues," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(4), pages 493-519, December.
    6. Michael G. Pollitt & Andrew S. J. Smith, 2002. "The restructuring and privatisation of British Rail: was it really that bad?," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 23(4), pages 463-502, December.
    7. Attiat F. Ott & Keith Hartley (ed.), 1991. "Privatization And Economic Efficiency," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 345.
    8. Dnes, Antony W. & Kodwani, Devendra G. & Seaton, Jonathan S. & Wood, Douglas, 1998. "The Regulation of the United Kingdom Electricity Industry: An Event Study of Price-Capping Measures," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 207-225, May.
    9. Da[ss]ler, Thoralf & Parker, David, 2004. "Harmony or disharmony in the regulation and the promotion of competition in EU telecommunications? A survey of the regulatory offices," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 9-28, March.
    10. Preetum Domah & Michael G. Pollitt, 2001. "The restructuring and privatisation of the electricity distribution and supply businesses in England," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 107-146, March.
    11. David Parker & David Saal (ed.), 2003. "International Handbook on Privatization," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2330.
    12. Domah, P. & Pollitt, M.G., 2000. "The Restructuring and Privatisation of Electricity Distribution and Supply Businesses in England and Wales: A Social Cost Benefit Analysis," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0007, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    13. Kay, J A & Thompson, D J, 1986. "Privatisation: A Policy in Search of a Rationale," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 96(381), pages 18-32, March.
    14. J.E. Haskel & S. Syzmanski, 1993. "The Effects of Privatisation, Restructuring and Competition on Productivity Growth in UK Public Corporations," Working Papers 286, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    15. R. G. Lipsey & Kelvin Lancaster, 1956. "The General Theory of Second Best," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 24(1), pages 11-32.
    16. E. Markou & C. Waddams Price, 1999. "UK utilities: Past reform and current proposals," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 371-416, September.
    17. John Vickers & George Yarrow, 1988. "Privatization: An Economic Analysis," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262720116, April.
    18. Newbery, D.M. & Pollitt, M.G., 1996. "The Restructuring and Privatisation of the CEGB: Was It Worth It?," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 9607, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    19. Massimo Florio, 2001. "The welfare impact of a privatisation: the British Telecom case-history," Departmental Working Papers 2001-08, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    20. Catherine Waddams & Ruth Hancock, 1998. "Distributional effects of liberalising UK residential utility markets," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 19(3), pages 295-319, August.
    21. Jean Shaoul, 2003. "A Financial Analysis of the National Air Traffic Services PPP," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 185-194, July.
    22. Michael Ian Cragg & I.J. Alexander Dyck, 1999. "Management Control and Privatization in the United Kingdom," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 30(3), pages 475-497, Autumn.
    23. David S Saal & David Parker, 2000. "The impact of privatization and regulation on the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales: a translog cost function model," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(6), pages 253-268.
    24. David Tyrrall & David Parker, 2005. "The Fragmentation of a Railway: A Study of Organizational Change," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(3), pages 507-537, May.
    25. Parker, David, 1997. "Price cap regulation, profitability and returns to investors in the UK regulated industries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 303-315, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mulatu, Abay & Crafts, Nicholas, 2005. "Efficiency among private railway companies in a weakly regulated system: the case of Britain's railways in 1893-1912," Economic History Working Papers 22552, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    2. Graeme A. Hodge, 2010. "Reviewing Public–Private Partnerships: Some Thoughts on Evaluation," Chapters, in: Graeme A. Hodge & Carsten Greve & Anthony E. Boardman (ed.), International Handbook on Public–Private Partnerships, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Eoin Reeves, 2005. "Book Review - "Selling Out? – Privatisation in Ireland" by Paul Sweeney," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 36(1), pages 77-82.
    4. Tyrone M. Carlin & Cuong Duc Pham, 2009. "From Public To Private: Evidence From a Transitional Economy Setting," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 19(3), pages 207-216, September.
    5. David Newbery, 2004. "Privatising Network Industries," CESifo Working Paper Series 1132, CESifo.
    6. Crafts, Nicholas & Mills, Terence C. & Mulatu, Abay, 2007. "Total factor productivity growth on Britain's railways, 1852-1912: A reappraisal of the evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 608-634, October.
    7. Hugh van der Mandele & Arjen C. van Witteloostuijn, 2013. "Free to Fail," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15112.
    8. David Coen, 2005. "Managing the Political Life Cycle of Regulation in the UK and German Telecommunication Sectors," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(1), pages 59-84, March.
    9. Graeme A. Hodge & Carsten Greve & Anthony E. Boardman, 2010. "Introduction: The PPP Phenomenon and its Evaluation," Chapters, in: Graeme A. Hodge & Carsten Greve & Anthony E. Boardman (ed.), International Handbook on Public–Private Partnerships, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Stephane Straub, 2011. "Infrastructure and Development: A Critical Appraisal of the Macro-level Literature," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(5), pages 683-708.
    11. Johan Willner, 2006. "A Mixed Oligopoly Where Private Firms Survive Welfare Maximisation," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 235-251, December.
    12. Nicholas Crafts & Timothy Leunig & Abay Mulatu, 2008. "Were British railway companies well managed in the early twentieth century?1," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 61(4), pages 842-866, November.
    13. Philippe Aghion & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt & Susanne Prantl, 2009. "The Effects of Entry on Incumbent Innovation and Productivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 20-32, February.
    14. Kate Bayliss & Ben Fine & Mary Robertson, 2016. "The Role of the State in Financialised Systems of Provision: Social Compacting, Social Policy, and Privatisation," Working papers wpaper154, Financialisation, Economy, Society & Sustainable Development (FESSUD) Project.
    15. Polterovich (Полтерович), Victor (Виктор), 2012. "Приватизация И Рациональная Структура Собственности. Часть 1. Приватизация: Проблема Эффективности [Privatization and the rational ownership structure. Part 1: privatization: the effeciency problem," MPRA Paper 64145, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Polterovich, V., 2013. "On Control of the Ownership Structure," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 177-182.
    17. Polterovich, Victor, 2012. "Приватизация И Рациональная Структура Собственности. Часть 1. Приватизация: Проблема Эффективности [Privatization and the rational ownership structure. Part 1: privatization: the effeciency problem," MPRA Paper 64371, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Graeme A. Hodge & Carsten Greve, 2009. "PPPs: THE PASSAGE OF TIME PERMITS A SOBER REFLECTION," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 33-39, March.
    19. Polterovich, Victor, 2012. "Приватизация и рациональная структура собственности (Privatizatsiya i ratsional’naya struktura sobstvennosti) [Privatization and the Rational Ownership Structure]," MPRA Paper 41069, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David Parker, 2004. "Editorial: Lessons From Privatisation," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 2-8, September.
    2. Fischer, Justina A.V., 2012. "The choice of domestic policies in a globalized economy: Extended Version," MPRA Paper 37816, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Fischer, Justina A.V., 2012. "The choice of domestic policies in a globalized economy," Papers 306, World Trade Institute.
    4. Giovanni Fraquelli & Fabrizio Erbetta, 1999. "Privatization in Italy: an analysis of factors productivity and technical efficiency," CERIS Working Paper 199905, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY.
    5. Ghulam, Yaseen, 2017. "Long-run performance of an industry after broader reforms including privatization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 745-768.
    6. Dassler, Thoralf, 2006. "Combining theories of regulation - Proposing a framework for analysing regulatory systems worldwide," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 31-43, March.
    7. Mota, R.L., 2003. "The Restructuring and Privatisation of Electricity Distribution and Supply Business in Brazil: A Social Cost-Benefit Analysis," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0309, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    8. Prandini, Alberto, 2007. "Good, BETTA, best? The role of industry structure in electricity reform in Scotland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1628-1642, March.
    9. Yin-Fang Zhang & David Parker & Colin Kirkpatrick, 2008. "Electricity sector reform in developing countries: an econometric assessment of the effects of privatization, competition and regulation," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 159-178, April.
    10. Parker, David, 2001. "Economic Regulation: A Preliminary Literature Review and Summary of Research Questions Arising," Centre on Regulation and Competition (CRC) Working papers 30616, University of Manchester, Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM).
    11. Jorge Pinilla & Joaquim Vergés, 2007. "Efectos De La Privatización En La Eficiencia De Iberia Líneas Aéreas De España S.A," Revista Economía y Administración, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas, Universidad de Concepción, vol. 69, pages 7-38, December.
    12. Gong, Stephen X.H. & Cullinane, Kevin & Firth, Michael, 2012. "The impact of airport and seaport privatization on efficiency and performance: A review of the international evidence and implications for developing countries," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 37-47.
    13. David Parker & Colin Kirkpatrick, 2005. "Privatisation in Developing Countries: A Review of the Evidence and the Policy Lessons," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 513-541.
    14. Christian Wolf & Michael G. Pollitt, 2009. "The Welfare Implications of Oil Privatisation: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Norway's Statoil," Working Papers EPRG 0905, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    15. D Palcic & Eoin Reeves, 2015. "Privatization and the economic performance of Irish Sugar/Greencore," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(55), pages 5945-5961, November.
    16. Jamasb, Tooraj & Pollitt, Michael, 2007. "Incentive regulation of electricity distribution networks: Lessons of experience from Britain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 6163-6187, December.
    17. Slabá, Monika & Gapko, Petr & Klimešová, Andrea, 2013. "Main drivers of natural gas prices in the Czech Republic after the market liberalisation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 199-212.
    18. Bel Germà & Fageda Xavier & E. Mildred, 2014. "Is private production of public services cheaper than public production? A meta-regression analysis of solid waste and water services," Public administration issues, Higher School of Economics, issue 3, pages 103-140.
    19. Willner, Johan & Parker, David, 2002. "The Relative Performance of Public and Private Enterprise Under Conditions of Active and Passive Ownership," Centre on Regulation and Competition (CRC) Working papers 30591, University of Manchester, Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM).
    20. Giulietti, Monica & Otero, Jesus, 2002. "The timing of tariff structure changes in regulated industries: evidence from England and Wales," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 71-99, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    UK; privatisation; competition regulation; privatisation lessons;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_1126. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.