The Economy Journal - Privatisations

Privatisation, a complex phenomenon difficult to define

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 13:11:55 +0100

Andrés Sanz . Institute for Fiscal Studies. Complutense University

Entitled "Privatisations. Some general aspects ", in a documented and reasoned article Andrés Sanz addressed the issue of privatisation, highlighting its importance, complexity and the need to continue deepening his study. Here we reproduce excerpts from the article, some of whose conclusions "revolve around the idea of questioning and relativising the generally accepted perception of the need to tackle the widespread privatisation of public sector," in his own words.

Roberto's business and goats

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 13:00:17 +0100

Jaume Reixach. Journalist

Catalunya drags a disgrace behind it: the dire solvency and professional competence of the government headed by Artur Mas, which has led the Government to ruin. The Catalan government debt, despite the savage cuts in social services which have been perpetrated over the last four years, has reached its historical limit, 65.179 million Euros, and the "snowball" is growing.

Ramón Tamames: "Queda poco por privatizar"

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 12:50:13 +0100

Ramón Tamames. Professor of economic structure

Carmen P. Flores.- Economist Ramón Tamames answered TEJ's questions on that the privatisations undertaken by the governments of Felipe González and José María Aznar were positive. He supports public Health and Education, in some cases with private participation, and considers the "never-ending crisis" will be overcome by the effort of all.

Privatisation in Spain and its consequences: an analytical perspective

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 12:43:46 +0100

María del Carmen Sánchez Carreira. Professor, Department of Applied Economics, University of Santiago de Compostela

A Reflection on the privatisation process carried out in the Spanish case since the eighties and with more intensity in the second decade of the nineties is very necessary. And this, not only in the current context of questioning of public sector activity and its confusion with the private sector (as an example we see, the usual revolving doors), but also because it has been more than a decade since the main privatisation processes.

A return of privatisation? Considerations on their legal status

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 12:26:38 +0100

Javier García and Juan José Enterría Lavilla. Clifford Chance partners

Since the adoption the Cabinet agreement in June 1996 which laid the foundations of the privatisation programme in our country, the state has made "by the foundation's programme to modernize the state's established public sector business", seventy-four different privatisation operations, which has meant the partial or total sale of its stake in the capital of sixty-two companies. In current terms, these operations generated revenues for State of close to 34,000 million Euros.

Privatisation in Spain

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 12:02:22 +0100

Joaquim Verges. Emeritus professor of financial economics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona

Over the past twenty years, in parallel with what was happening in many other countries, the public sector in Spain has undergone significant restructuring and some reduction, then a comprehensive privatisation programme, concentrated in the years between 1996 and 2003.

The long process of public enterprise disinvestment: the case of privatisation in Spain

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 11:24:40 +0100

Borja Colón de Carbajal. Career Civil Servant in the Upper Technical Staff of the Generalitat Valenciana

From the eighties onwards, privatisation became a common practice of economic policy in many countries. A practice also undertaken in Spain, after its entry into the then European Economic Community, at the point in time when our country's public companies were forced to start their adaptation to EU legislation deregulation and competition.

The ATLL, an example of a "bad"privatisation

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 11:13:45 +0100

Manuel Fernando González. Journalist

Since when on the Valentine's Day 2012, the Generalitat de Catalunya decided to convene the Adjudication Board of ATLL (Aigües Ter-Llobregat, the Ter-Llobregat rivers water company) to privatise this public company, chaos and incompetence were the two most-used words by journalists to define a process that is still in the courts, and has left the incompetence of a politician called Andreu Mas-Colel clearly in evidence, and also the darker side of the Government of Artur Mas, who was forced to return to the starting point for his own OARCC (Tribunal Català de Contractes del Sector Públic, the Catalonian Tribunal of Public Sector Contracts) and the Supreme Court have clearly and emphatically disauthorised him. Never in Catalonia had such nonsense been seen that, surely, will help in the most prestigious business schools in the world to use whole process as a textbook for future leaders to learn how "not to privatise a public company". If these are the structures of state that the current Catalonian leaders are going tol design, we the citizens of Catalonia are in a bad way.

The CCP's role in the privatisation process

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 10:45:30 +0100

Luis Gámir. Chairman of the Advisory Council on Privatisation

The Advisory Council on Privatisation (CCP) was established in June 1996 and since then has until the end of 2014 analyzed nearly 90 privatisation transactions in which 75 companies have been privatised and been paid 50 thousand million Euros in current terms (34 thousand million in real terms). These figures might be be augmented soon with operations such as AENA or CESCE.

Privatisations

Thu, 05 Feb 2015 10:33:17 +0100

Carmen P. Flores. Journalist

Talking about privatisation is not easy because there are strong proponents and firm uncompromising detractors thereof. Against this background, we wanted to go deeper into the issue and for that we present this intense and interesting number, in which you will find very interesting opinions of those who have good things to say and those who do not. All very well reasoned and with weighty arguments.