State-owned enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa : privatization, performance and reform /

Readers might expect that a collection of articles covering a variety of privatization topics and a broad geographical area would share little in common. Yet a broad consensus emerges: (1) privatization is essential in the Middle East and North Africa, where government's share of production is high and state-owned enterprises are notably inefficient; (2) privatization can significantly improve the welfare of the general public; and (3) governments under budgetary pressure have advocated reform, but little has been accomplished. The slow pace of privatization is explained by M. Nabli in cost-benefit terms expanded to include political as well as economic consequences and is epitomized in M. Celasun and I. Arslan's article on Turkish policy (1985-95). J. Page attributes the low rate of economic growth and corresponding pressures to preserve the status quo to the closed nature of most non-oil MENA countries. Unfortunately, no article covers regional change after 1997. Thus new pressures for both liberalization and privatization in much of the world are not explored, especially in Turkey, which has moved from talk to action. Moreover, country coverage is rather uneven. Readers would do well to scan the editor's informative introductory chapter, which briefly summarizes the articles, and then focus on specific chapters of interest. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. J. Prager New York University