Privatization programs have been introduced in a number of countries in the last decade with a view to improving the economic performance of state-owned industries. Yet empirical studies of public versus private ownership have produced mixed results. This study is concerned with assessing the...

In recent years government economic policy in the UK and elsewhere has been guided by the belief that changing organisational status improves performance (Ott and Hartley, 1991; Vickers and Yarrow, 1988). This is most evident in the case of the UK privatisation programme, where it is believed that...