POSC 322 - The Politics of Privatization

The adoption of neoliberal economic policies has been one of the most significant reforms undertaken around the world in the last two decades. Privatization, in particular, has been so popular and so widespread that one writer has remarked that even the United States, the quintessential free market economy, was “looking for something to sell.” This course examines political and economic explanations for the global adoption of privatization and economic restructuring in the 1980s and 1990s. It looks at the conditions under which governments enacted policies and compares the outcome of privatization measures in selected countries and sectors in East and Central Europe, Latin America, and Africa. It analyzes the claims of critics of privatization and the responses of privatization’s winners and losers. Students examine recent changes in the approach to the distribution of public goods and explore innovative public-private partnerships such as that between the development agency, CARE, and the coffee company, Starbucks, to provide water, sanitation, or micro-credit in developing countries.

Credits: 1.00
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
Liberal Arts CORE: None

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