The impact of privatization on firms in the infrastructure sector in Latin American countries.

摘要

This research analyzes the impact of privatization on the performance of 181 utilities in Latin American countries. Two different methodologies are applied over indicators of output, inputs, productivity, efficiency, quality, coverage, and prices, for electric, water, and telecommunication firms. The results suggest that changes in ownership generated significant improvements in labor productivity, efficiency, and product/service quality. For telecommunications, significant improvements in output and coverage can be observed. However, changes are not so remarkable after two years following the change in ownership, suggesting that most of the effects happened during the transition.; For the telecommunications sector, in addition to the change in ownership, this research also analyzes the impact of competition on the indicators mentioned above. Although most of the previous results hold, those concerning prices are particularly affected by the presence of competition.