On Privatizing State Property
In: Voprosy Ekonomiki, Heft 12, S. 54-69
The process of privatizing state-owned property assets such as agricultural or manufacturing enterprises is considered in the paper. An optimal timing model is employed to investigate the question of the best time to privatize a state-owned property asset. Beyond the optimal timing question, the author also analyses the simultaneous question of the optimal amount of new fixed investment that should accompany privatization. In both cases, comparative static analysis is employed to determine how fluctuations in net income streams before and after privatization and tax rates that apply to land and capital improvements affect the optimal timing and capital investment decisions. The results provide important insights for the design of privatization policies.