Privatisation of Public Property as an Economic Policy Tool: Public versus Private Ownership of Enterprises – Empirical Evidence and Locational Considerations

With a few exceptions pinpointed in the public services field where it has not been possible to set up an effective competition regime, international empirical evidence demonstrates that enterprises which have attracted investors from the private economy can (at the least) be run more efficiently than when operating under the sole influence of the state and are therefore basically open to privatisation. Reflecting this finding, an evaluation of the privatisation of the three major state-held stakes in Austrian industries (Böhler-Uddeholm AG, OMV AG and voestalpine AG) arrives at a positive result from an overall economic point of view.