Privatization in Latin America Myths and Reality [Hardcover]

Privatization in Latin Americarepresents the first systemic economic analysis of the efficiency and distributive effect of privatization in Latin America. Examining the privatization experience of six Latin American countriesBrazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and ColombiaPrivatization in Latin Americaevaluates the empirical evidence on privatization and assesses the validity of the criticisms raised. It shows that privatization can lead to increased profitability and productivity, firm restructuring, fiscal benefits, output growth, and even quality improvements.Privatization in Latin Americais destined to become a must-have reference for researchers interested in privatization or the economic aspects of social policy reforms. Unusually coherent for an edited volume, the book is impressive in its wealth of data and its careful, thorough empirical analyses, which control for several confounding factors. Nineteen Latin American Economists present a powerful, well-documented case that the privatization of state-owned enterprises has been a regional success story, popular perceptions notwithstanding. . . . This accessible, state-of-the-art collection will be valuable reading to students of privatization worldwide. Examining the privatization experience of six Latin American countriesBrazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombiathis book evaluates the empirical evidence on privatization and assesses the validity of the criticisms raised to show that privatization can lead to increased profitability and productivity, firm restructuring, fiscal benefits, output growth, and even quality improvements.Alberto Chong is a researcher at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Florencio Lopez de Silanes is a Professor at the Yale School of Management and is a researcher with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).