Suchergebnisse

SINCE THE 1980S, THE PRIVATIZATION OF STATE ENTERPRISES HAS GONE FROM NOVELTY ACT TO GLOBAL ORTHODOXY. MORE THAN 100 GOVERNMENTS HAVE SOLD STAKES IN STATE COMPANIES TO PRIVATE INVESTORS, RAISING $1 TRILLION AND TRANSFORMING THE STATE'S ECONOMIC ROLE. THOUGH PRIVATIZATION'S PROMISE MAY HAVE BEEN OVERSOLD, ITS ILLS HAVE ALSO BEEN EXAGGERATED. THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW - NOT WHETHER - TO TRANSFER STATE FIRMS TO PRIVATE HANDS. THE AUTHOR EXPLAINS HOW PRIVATIZATION IS MORE THAN AN ECONOMIC ISSUE, HOW IT HAS SHRUNK THE ECONOMIC ROLE OF THE STATE, AND HOW IT BREEDS CORRUPTION.

Privatization of social welfare services in Canada is promoted by national, provincial, regional and municipal governments through initiatives that emphasize public-private partnerships. Together with encouraging these partnerships as a privatization strategy, government also reduces public funding and replaces it with private sector contracting for social provision. An exploratory study of the Healthy Babies/ Healthy Children (HBHC) program found an increasing acceptance of privatization by service providers in Ontario. These findings illustrate the argument that government creates the context for market-based solutions. But can market-based solutions really solve social problems, and is this the intention of government social policy?