We argue that management sells assets when doing so provides the cheapest funds to pursue its objectives rather than for operating efficiency reasons alone. This hypothesis suggests that (1) firms selling assets have high leverage and/or poor performance, (2) a successful asset sale is good news...

The scope of privatization -- Why do countries privatize? -- How do countries privatize? -- Empirical evidence on privatization's effectiveness in non-transition economies -- Empirical evidence on privatization in transition economies -- The structure and investment performance of privatization...

This paper summarizes research examining how privatization programs implemented by governments over the past three decades have changed the size and efficiency of global financial markets, altered the practice of corporate finance in economies that experienced large privatizations, and impacted...