AUTHOR'S BIO
William J. Baumol
William Baumol is Professor of Economics and Director of the Berkeley Entrepreneurship Center at New York University.
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Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism
William J. Baumol, Robert E. Litan and Carl Schramm Series: Frontiers of Growth 2008-03-10Many people assumed that when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, “capitalism” had won the ideological cold war and that “communism” had lost. But, while there may be no obvious alternative to capitalism, it takes very different forms in the nearly 200 countries that practice it.... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 27374 -
Government Promises To Privatized Firms And The Public Interest
William J. Baumol Series: The World in Words 1997-01-28BUENOS AIRES: A danger haunts the market mechanism and threatens the benefits expected from privatization of inefficient state firms everywhere in the world. During the privatization process, promises are made to investors to induce them to bid for companies and to provide incentives for enhancement of efficiency. Soon after privatization, however, governments come under political pressure to renege on their promises once the benefits of privatization begin to be harvested. The danger is that these benefits may vanish. Experience in telephone privatization in Argentina and the United Kingdom offers useful lessons for privatization programs elsewhere, particularly in the transition countries. ... read Comments: 0 Recommended: 0 Read: 3425

