The Fiscal Consequences of Privatisation: Australian Evidence.

Privatisation has become a common governement policy in many countries. This paper summarizes the salient features of privatisations by public share float in Australia during the period 1989 to 1997. The costs associated with these privatisations is examined, including both direct costs and the opportunity cost of Australian gorvernments selling assets cheaply. Furthermorem, the impact that such sales have on the net worth of the public sector is estimated.