| Summary/Abstract |
THE REFORM OF STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES (SOES) HAS BEEN A
leading element of public sector reform since the 1980s. Starting
with the radical actions of Margaret Thatcher’s government in
the United Kingdom, privatization was disseminated across the
world. By 2004, over $1 trillion of SOEs had been privatized.
The privatization stampede represented the ascendancy of neoclassical
economics and the view that governments should get
out of business and leave the invisible hand of the market to
either generate efficiency in often poorly performing enterprises
or simply close them down (World Bank 1995, 1996, 1997).
This neoliberal policy orientation dovetailed with the Washington
Consensus and the spread of New Public Management, both
of which sought leaner, more fiscally disciplined government
that focused on core functions (Turner, Hulme, and McCourt
2015).
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