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Three arguments are normally presented as rationale for the privatisation of state owned enterprises. The first relates to the problem of the financing of higher levels of public expenditure / the second is based on the viewpoint that private ownership is more efficient than public ownership / whilst the third claims that the losses of inefficient public enterprise are responsible for excessive budget deficits and other fiscal problems.<br /> <br /> Although empirical evidence proves that privatisation enhances economic efficiency, it negatively affects the affordability of and access to essential services, which may have serous consequences for poorer households. This happens through increased prices of essential services, such as electricity and telecommunication, as well as through loss of employment opportunities during and after privatisation.<br /> <br /> Many countries, also in Africa, implemented various types of privatisation programmes over the past two decades in order to decrease the relative size of governments and to improve efficient delivery of services. Towards the end the 1990&rsquo / s and after the tragic genocide, Rwanda&rsquo / s Government of National Unity also embarked on an ambitious restructuring programme of its state-owned enterprises.<br /> The main purpose of this study was to assess the likely impact of privatisation on poor households in developing countries. The report presents a general overview of the literature, with a specific focus on Brazil, Argentina and South Africa. It investigates the experiences of these countries and derives lessons that can be learnt. Finally it assesses the possible impact of the privatisation of essential service delivery on poor households in Rwanda.<br /> <br /> The main conclusion of the study is that governments should look beyond efficiency benefits of restructuring and focus on the overall opportunity cost of the privatisation of essential service delivery. The specific method of privatisation may determine the final social impact. The case studies also highlight the need for more research into the challenges facing the privatisation of essential service delivery. It is clear that any restructuring should be preceded by a thorough analysis of the likely impact on the poorer sections of the community.

This thesis reports on a multi-disciplinary evaluation of primary level health units, undertaken in Tanzania The research objectives were to evaluate the provision of primary level health care in order to develop recommendations for its improvement and appropriate methods for such assessment at district level. The evaluation used the technique of cost analysis together with specific review of structural and process quality and of the community's satisfaction with the available care, in order to assess production efficiency. An initial group of 58 health units, including both dispensaries and health centres, and government and voluntary agency units, were evaluated in the cost and structural assessments. Process quality was assessed in a sub-sample of twenty units, and community satisfaction in relation to a further subsample of ten units. The range of unit types was maintained at each stage of the study. This study's analysis indicates that these units were inefficient, characterized by poor productivity, limited structural, and weak process, quality. They were also poorly perceived by the community. Health centres were relatively expensive but of poor quality. Voluntary agency units performed no better than government units, and sometimes worse. The study's conclusions point to the need for better management of available resources to bring about more efficient, better quality care. The inadequacy of currently available resources was found to underlie some performance failures but an equally important problem was the weakness of the organizational structure of the health system. The research findings indicate the potential for efficiency savings, as well as considering the additional resources that might be generated through the introduction of user fees at the primary level. However, this potential will only be tapped if structures that encourage flexible and effective management are developed. The methods of this research could be used to strengthen managerial practices, either being adapted for use in other research studies or for monitoring at the district level. Similar research is required to support the development of management structures and systems.

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Thesis. 1975. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Economics. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Asim K. Dasgupta. / Ph.D.

The perceived lack of conclusive quantitative evidence on the macroeconomic effects of debt relief in low-income countries has generally blurred the image of debt relief efforts and left the issues of its effectiveness and efficiency open to debate and dispute. This thesis seeks to shed more light on the subject by providing some further empirical evidence. This objective is achieved by performing an empirical investigation of two effects of debt relief. First, the study examines the debt relief-new borrowing relationship in a multivariable regression framework. The results that emerge suggest that, on average, debt relief can be beneficial in reducing the future new borrowing of Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs). This conclusion, to some extent, is in line with the goals of HIPCs debt relief initiatives in reducing external debt burdens of those countries to sustainable levels. However, it presents a challenge to the views of William Easterly on the ???perverse incentive effects??? of ???continuing waves??? of debt relief that are said to lead to further debt accumulation of a similar magnitude to replace old cancelled debt. Second, the analysis explores the influence of debt relief on domestic investment behaviour in developing countries. Debt relief is found to have a positive effect on domestic investment in countries with good policy environments. This result suggests that debt relief would be more effective in promoting domestic investment if it were more cautiously conditioned on sound policy frameworks.

Outward foreign direct investment has increased significantly in recent years and a con-siderable part is going to developing countries. This thesis examines the determinants of Chinese outward FDI to developing countries. Data from 2003 to 2008 has been col-lected from 104 developing countries which have received Chinese FDI.The analysis is based on the results of a semi-gravity model. The variables included in the regression are resource-richness, GDP, openness to trade, bilateral trade with China, and distance from Beijing. As expected by the authors, Chinese FDI was found to be strongly correlated with resource-richness and the existence of trade ties between China and the recipient country. Quite disturbingly, the results show a strong relationship be-tween Chinese FDI and corruption. A negative correlation was confirmed for the level of GDP, openness to trade, and distance to Beijing, along with the authors‟ expecta-tions.

Thesis--Hamburg. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 383-412).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 113 p. : col. map. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-101).

Disc, --Basel. / Bibliography: p. vii-viii.