Role and extent of competition in improving the performance of public enterprises. United Nations, New York, 93 pp.

DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230130206
Date01 May 1993
Published date01 May 1993
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT, VOL.
13, 171-182 (1993)
Book
Reviews
ROLE AND EXTENT OF COMPETITION IN IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE
OF
PUBLIC ENTERPRISES
United Nations, New
York,
93 pp.
This publication emanates from the proceedings of a United Nations
(UN)
International
Seminar held in New Delhi, India, 12-19 April, 1989. The principal objectives of the seminar
were to:
(a) Examine the optimum role and extent of competition in improving public enterprise
performance;
(b) Review the general thrust of current public enterprise reforms and explore the potential
for competition for specific types of public enterprises, such as natural monopolies,
statutory monopolies and competitive firms;
(c) Develop appropriate policy guidelines for improving the efficiency of public enterprises.
This Seminar was attended by senior officials concerned with public enterprise reform from
18 developing countries, namely, Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Egypt, Greece, India,
Jamaica, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Trinidad
and Tobago, United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Representatives of the Common-
wealth Secretariat, the International Institute of Administrative Sciences, the International
Monetary Fund, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the
UN
Development Pro-
gramme and the World Bank were also present at the seminar.
Four working papers were discussed at the seminar:
1. Privatization and the performance of public firms.
2. On competitive impulses and public enterprise performance.
3. Reconsideration
of
franchise contracts for natural monopolies.
4.
Improving the performance
of
public enterprises through competition.
Conclusions were reached in four areas. First, with regard to the regulatory framework
for performance improvement, competitive forces can be introduced in several ways: deregula-
tion of statutory monopoly, management incentives, separation of enterprises from govern-
ment, targets for achievement of objectives and evaluation of the latter. Second, though the
overall financial performance of the public enterprise sector as a whole is not good, some
enterprises in almost all countries have been very effective and efficient in the attainment
of their objectives. One of the critical factors relates to their exposure to a competitive market
environment. Third, franchising is a promising alternative in some cases but not necessarily
every case. Fourth, in concluding on the performance of competitive public enterprises, the
volume is wise to caution that
‘every country can examine its own capacities and individual enterprise areas
and can adopt appropriate policies
.
.
.,
to the extent feasible, in order to foster
competition.
Having guided
us
very competently through fairly familiar terrain, perhaps the next United
Nations Department of Technical Cooperation for Development seminar could address the
issue of creating capabilities for policy formulation and its effective implementation in these
important areas.
PAUL COLLINS
International
Division
RIPA
0
1993 by John Wiley
&
Sons, Ltd.

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