State Ownership ? Reasons in Principle and Dilemmas in Practice

Mainstream approach in 1990s considered the extension of private ownership, including transfer of state assets into private hands as a cornerstone of transition in Central and Eastern Europe. Thus, economists and politicians in these years were concerned mainly to justify privatization. Now the endgame, sales of remaining assets and in some cases revision of unsuccessful transactions is bringing back into the crossfire of political contention some basic theoretical issues debated at the beginning of privatization. Does it matter at all who the owner is? What can justify maintaining and extending state ownership? Can the state operate as a better owner in a market economy than in a planned economy? With almost 15 years experience of economic transformation, it becomes possible to examine the validity of theories in the light of practice.

Közgazdasági Szemle ? Economic Review LII. évf., 2005. January pp. 1 - 23.