Privatisation, i.e. the transfer of ownership and control of state-owned enterprises, is a worldwide phenomenom. Which political, economic and institutional factors are shaping this process? This paper addresses the issue presenting new evidence from a sample of 49 countries. From an empirical...

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are key actors in the global financial landscape of the twenty-first century. According to the OECD, at the peak of the global financial crisis, government driven international M&A reached US$120 billion, or 20% of the total international M&A. This dropped...

During 2005-2006, the Chinese government implemented a reform aimed at eliminating the so-called non-tradable shares (NTS) typically held by the State or by politically connected institutional investors that were issued at the early stage of financial market development. Our analysis, based on...

This article details major privatization deals executed during 2011 and the first half of 2012 and surveys trends shaping the privatization landscape worldwide. We document several important facts, including the following: Governments raised only $94.4 billion (€68.2 billion) through...

This article details major privatization deals executed during 2010 and the first half of 2011 and surveys trends shaping the privatization landscape worldwide. We document several important facts, including the following: Governments raised a record $213.6 billion (€159.9 billion) through...

We study the effect of state ownership on the market-to-book ratios of publicly traded European utilities observed from 1994 to 2005. We find that when the company is subject to independent regulation, state ownership is positively associated with firm value. This effect is strong and...

In 2005-2006 China reformed its stock market by eliminating non-tradable shares. The regulator set general guidelines and then assigned responsibility for implementation to each company. We derive relations that should have been followed by the prices of stocks and exploit a company-level data...