The real interest rate and the equity risk premium are critical economic parameters that influence a wide range of economic decisions. This paper considers the problems involved in estimating expected real interest rates and the equity risk premium, and hence the overall cost of capital. Using...

This paper considers the arguments for and against private-sector financing --as opposed to operational management --of public services. Under certain conditions the costs of public and private finance will be similar, but these conditions are unlikely to hold for many public services. Using...

The introduction of competition into utilities is currently being pursued in the many countries, including the UK. Competition can take various forms, such as competition for outputs, inputs, franchises, and outright takeovers. Attention is currently focused on output competition, whereby...

A significant recent development has been the extension of market processes to activities which were previously provided by the public sector. A central feature of newly privatized markets is the emergence of widespread forms of contracting. Explicit contracting is used where in the past...

Patterns of corporate control vary markedly across countries. This paper examines the reasons for these differences and their consequences for corporate performance. It finds that they primarily result from differences in the ownership of firms and their legal forms. These affect the relative...