Books › The Great Divestiture
The Great Divestiture
440 pages
A rigorous, data-driven dismantling of the perceived successes of British privatization.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting in a high-level economics seminar where long-held assumptions are methodically dismantled. The pace is steady and deliberate, guiding the reader through a rigorous landscape of social cost-benefit analyses and macroeconomic trends. Its tone is decidedly scholarly and objective, yet a sobering mood settles in as the data reveals the stark realities of regressive redistribution. The prose is analytical and precise, demanding careful attention rather than offering a breezy narrative. It is an intellectually demanding experience that rewards the reader with a profound, evidence-based understanding of systemic policy impacts. This is a text that will deeply satisfy policy wonks, economic historians, and anyone seeking a comprehensive, clear-eyed evaluation of state divestiture and its true societal costs.
- Mood
- intellectual
- serious
- sober
- Tone
- analytical
- objective
- methodical
- scholarly
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- economic inequality · policy evaluation · wealth redistribution · societal welfare
- The writing
- Rigorous, academic, and data-driven, prioritizing clarity and systematic analysis over narrative flourish.
- The arc
- Moves from a broad historical overview to a focused, sobering critique of systemic economic shifts.
- Who it's for
- Economists, historians, and policy enthusiasts eager for a rigorous, data-backed reevaluation of British privatization.
About the book
"The privatization carried out under the Thatcher and Major governments in Britain has been widely (although not universally) considered a success, and has greatly influenced the privatization of state industries in the transition economies of Eastern Europe. Massimo Florio's systematic analysis is the first comprehensive treatment of the overall welfare impact of this broad national policy of divestiture. Using the tools of social cost-benefit analysis, Florio assesses the effect of privatization on consumers, taxpayers, firms, shareholders, and workers. His conclusion may be surprising to some; his findings suggest that the changeover to private ownership per se had little effect on long-term trends in prices and productivity in Britain and contributed to regressive redistribution." "After historical and theoretical overviews of privatization and a look at macroeconomic trends in the Thatcher-Major era, Florio considers in detail the microeconomic effects of British privatization on several key groups. In successive chapters, he examines firms and productivity charges; shareholders' windfall gains and evidence of underpricing and outperformance in privatized companies; workers, management, and changes in industrial relations; consumers and the quantity and quality of goods."--BOOK JACKET.
Description from Open Library.
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