Most people agree that a good investment climate is essential for growth and poverty reduction. Less clear is how to achieve it. Many reforms are complex, involving more than technical design and content. They are both political, facing opposition from organized and powerful groups-and...

This paper takes stock of recent privatization trends, examines the extent to which government ownership is still prevalent in developing countries, and summarizes emerging issues for state enterprise reform going forward. Between 1990 and 2003, 120 developing countries carried out nearly 8,000...

A recent study examining privatization results in four Sub-Saharan African countries yielded two broad conclusions: First, privatization is not easy to do, and getting it right can be tough in low-income countries. Second, if privatization is done right and there is a little luck, it can lead to...

An update of the World Bank Group's Privatization Database shows that privatization in developing countries continued to pick up in 2004 and 2005, with 400 transactions worth US$90 billion. Apart from 1997, the 2005 result in nominal terms is the highest since 1990 (when the data start)....

After two decades of privatization, has government ownership and control of enterprises declined substantially? A rigorous assessment is difficult in the absence of systematic data on state enterprises. But ongoing research suggests that while privatization has helped reduce the state's role in...

During the 1990s Mexico undertook some of the world's most far-reaching reforms of business regulations. Many factors, including trade liberalization and firm political commitment, drove this process. But critical to its sustained success was the early development and then legal strengthening of...

When state-owned enterprises preparing for privatization have very high levels of redundant workers and when social safety nets and redundancy provisions in labor laws are inadequate or lacking, the political and social implications of layoffs mean that the government should be involved in the...

The paper reviews recent evidence on the impact of privatization. It focuses on traditional privatization efforts involving firms in competitive markets. It shows that privatization improves firms' financial and operating performance, yields positive fiscal and macroeconomic benefits (proceeds...

Drawing from more than 25 case studies, this book shows that reform often requires paying as much attention to dealing with the politics and institutional dimensions as to designing policy substance. While there is no single recipe or manual for reform, the authors highlight three broad lessons....

In economies characterized by low labor demand and high rates of youth unemployment, entrepreneurship training has the potential to enable youth to gain skills and create their own jobs. This paper presents experimental evidence on a new entrepreneurship track that provides business training and...