Editing Privatization (section)

=== 20th century onwards ===
The first mass privatization of state property occurred in [[Nazi Germany]] between 1933 and 1937: "It is a fact that the government of the National Socialist Party sold off public ownership in several state-owned firms in the middle of the 1930s. The firms belonged to a wide range of sectors: steel, mining, banking, local public utilities, shipyard, ship-lines, railways, etc. In addition to this, delivery of some public services produced by public administrations prior to the 1930s, especially social services and services related to work, was transferred to the private sector, mainly to several organizations within the Nazi Party."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bel|first=Germà|date=2010-02-01|title=Against the mainstream: Nazi privatization in 1930s Germany1|journal=The Economic History Review|language=en|volume=63|issue=1|pages=34–55|doi=10.1111/j.1468-0289.2009.00473.x|issn=1468-0289|hdl=2445/11716|s2cid=154486694|url=http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/11716/1/162.pdf|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

[[Great Britain]] privatized its [[steel industry]] in the 1950s, and the [[West German]] government embarked on large-scale privatization, including sale of the [[majority stake]] in [[Volkswagen]] to small investors in public share offerings in 1961.<ref name="handbook" /> However, it was in the 1980s under [[Margaret Thatcher]] in the United Kingdom and [[Ronald Reagan]] in the United States that privatization gained worldwide momentum. Notable privatizations in the UK included [[Britoil]] (1982), the radioactive-chemicals company [[Amersham plc|Amersham International]] (1982), [[BT Group|British Telecom]] (1984), [[Sealink]] ferries (1984), [[BP|British Petroleum]] (gradually privatized between 1979 and 1987), [[British Aerospace]] (1985 to 1987), [[British Gas plc|British Gas]] (1986), [[Rolls-Royce Holdings|Rolls-Royce]] (1987), [[Rover Group]] (formerly [[British Leyland]], 1988), [[British Steel Corporation]] (1988), [[Girobank]] (1989), and the [[Water privatisation in England and Wales|regional water authorities]] of England and Wales (mostly in 1989). After 1979, [[Council housing|council house]] tenants in the UK were given the [[right to buy]] their homes at a heavily discounted price; one million had purchased their residences by 1986.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Such efforts culminated in 1993 when [[British Rail]] was privatized under Thatcher's successor, [[John Major]]. British Rail had been formed by prior [[nationalization]] of private rail companies. The privatization was controversial, and [[Impact of the privatisation of British Rail|its impact is still debated today]], as doubling of passenger numbers and investment was balanced by an increase in [[rail subsidy]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/15/nostalgia-british-rail-trains-better |title=Forget the nostalgia for British Rail – our trains are better than ever|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2013-08-15|last1=Birrell|first1=Ian}}</ref>

These privatizations received mixed views from the public and the parliament. Even former Conservative prime minister [[Harold Macmillan]] was critical of the policy, likening it to "selling the family silver".<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Harold Macmillan |url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/harold-macmillan-2/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805111345/http://www.number10.gov.uk/history-and-tour/harold-macmillan-2/ |archive-date=5 August 2011 |website=Number10.gov.uk |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> There were around 3 million shareholders in Britain when Thatcher [[1979 United Kingdom general election|took office in 1979]], but the subsequent sale of state-run firms saw the number of shareholders double by 1985. By the time of her resignation in 1990, there were more than 10 million shareholders in Britain.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4446012.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Thatcher years in graphics |date=2005-11-18}}</ref>

Privatization in Latin America was extensive in the 1980s and 1990s, as a result of a Western liberal economic policy. Companies providing public services such as [[water management]], transportation, and [[telecommunications]] were rapidly sold off to the private sector. In the 1990s, privatization revenue from 18 Latin American countries totaled 6% of gross domestic product.<ref name="Nellis">"Privatization in Latin America: The rapid rise, recent fall, and continuing puzzle of a contentious economic policy" by John Nellis, Rachel Menezes, Sarah Lucas. Center for Global Development Policy Brief, Jan 2004, p. 1.</ref> Private investment in infrastructure from 1990 and 2001 reached $360.5 billion, $150 billion more than in the next emerging economy.<ref name="Nellis" />

While economists generally give favorable evaluations of the impact of privatization in Latin America,<ref>"The Distributive Impact of Privatization in Latin America: Evidence from Four Countries" by David McKenzie, Dilip Mookherjee, Gonzalo Castañeda and Jaime Saavedra. Brookings Institution Press, 2008, p. 162.</ref> opinion polls and public protests across the countries suggest that a large segment of the public is dissatisfied with or have negative views of privatization in the region.<ref>"Why is Sector Reform So Unpopular in Latin America?" by Mary Shirley. The Ronald Coase Institute Working Papers, 2004, p. 1.</ref>

In the 1990s, the governments in Eastern and Central Europe engaged in extensive privatization of state-owned enterprises in Eastern and Central Europe and Russia, with assistance from the [[World Bank]], the U.S. Agency for International Development, the German [[Treuhand]], and other governmental and [[non-governmental organization]].

[[Nippon Telegraph and Telephone]]'s privatization in 1987 involved the largest share offering in financial history at the time.<ref name="megginson205">The Financial Economics of Privatisation By William L. Megginson, pp. 205–206</ref> 15 of the world's 20 largest public share offerings have been privatizations of telecoms.<ref name="megginson205" />

In 1988, the [[perestroika]] policy of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] started allowing privatization of the centrally planned economy. Large privatization of the Soviet economy occurred over the next few years as the country [[dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolved]]. Other [[Eastern Bloc]] countries followed suit after the [[Revolutions of 1989]] introduced non-communist governments.

'''Freedom House's privatization index, 1998 and 2002'''<br>
[[Freedom House]]'s privatization index rated transition countries from 1 (maximum progress) to 7 (no progress). The table below shows the privatization index for various Eastern European countries in 1998 and 2002:<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tiUgEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 |title=Norman A. Graham, Folke Lindahl, Timur Kocaoglu, Rowman & Littlefield, Mar 19, 2021, ''Making Russia and Turkey Great Again?: Putin and Erdogan in Search of Lost Empires and Autocratic Power'', p. 45 |isbn=9781793610232 |access-date=October 6, 2022 |archive-date=December 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204101725/https://books.google.ro/books?id=tiUgEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 |url-status=live |last1=Graham |first1=Norman A. |last2=Lindahl |first2=Folke |last3=Kocaoglu |first3=Timur |date=19 March 2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!Privatization<br>index
!1998
!2002
|-
|'''{{flagcountry|Bulgaria}}''' || 4.0 || 3.0
|-
|'''{{flagcountry|Czech Republic}}''' || 2.0 || 1.75
|-
|'''{{flagcountry|Hungary}}''' || 1.5 || 1.5
|-
|'''{{flagcountry|Poland}}''' || 2.25 || 2.25
|-
|'''{{flagcountry|Romania}}''' || 4.5 || 3.75 
|-
|'''{{flagcountry|Slovakia}}''' || 3.25 || 2.0
|-
|'''{{flagcountry|Slovenia}}''' || 2.5 || 2.5 
|-
|'''{{flagcountry|Russian Federation}}''' || 3.0 || 3.5 
|}

The largest public shares offering in France involved [[Orange SA|France Télécom]].

Egypt undertook widespread privatization under [[Hosni Mubarak]]. Following his overthrow in the [[2011 Egyptian revolution|2011 revolution]], most of the public began to call for re-nationalization, citing allegations of the privatized firms practicing [[crony capitalism]] under the old regime.<ref>Amos, Deborah, [https://www.npr.org/2011/04/20/135542498/in-egypt-revolution-moves-into-the-factories "In Egypt, Revolution Moves Into The Factories"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308231701/https://www.npr.org/2011/04/20/135542498/in-egypt-revolution-moves-into-the-factories |date=2018-03-08 }}, ''[[NPR]]'', April 20, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-20.</ref>