Utilities have long been essential for societies, supplying basic services for nations, organizations and households alike. The proper functioning and regulation of utilities is therefore critical for the economy, society and security. History provides an invaluable insight into important issues of the economic and social regulation of utilities and offers guidance for future debates. However, the history of utility regulation - which speaks of changing, diverse and complex experiences around the world - was sidelined or marginalised when economists and policy-makers enthusiastically embraced the question of how to reform the utilities from the 1970s. This book examines in depth the complex regulation and deregulation of energy, communications, transportation and water utilities across Western Europe, the United States, Australia, Brazil, China and India. In each case, attention is drawn to the changing roles of the state, the market and firms in the regulation, organization and delivery of utility services. This book was originally published as a special issue of Business History.

This book offers insights into the contemporary issues in banking with a special focus on the recent European regulatory reforms, governance and the performance of firms. Written by prestigious professors and expert academics in the field, the book also covers a diverse set of topics that have gained great importance in this sector such as firm financing, culture, risk and other challenges faced by banks. The book is of interest to scholars, students and professionals in banking.

This book offers insights into the contemporary issues in banking with a special focus on the recent European regulatory reforms, governance and the performance of firms. Written by prestigious professors and expert academics in the field, the book also covers a diverse set of topics that have gained great importance in this sector such as firm financing, culture, risk and other challenges faced by banks. The book is of interest to scholars, students and professionals in banking.

Judith Clifton, Francisco Com n and Daniel D az Fuentes in Privatisation in the European Union reject the two dominant explanations provided in literature, which include a simple 'Americanisation' of policy and a 'varied' privatisation experience without a common driving force. Using a systematic comparative analysis of privatisation experiences in each country from the 1980s to the beginning of the twenty first century, the authors show how the process of European integration and the need for internationally competitive industries have constituted key driving forces in the quest for privatisation across the EU. As privatisation slows down at the turn of the millennium, what future can citizens expect for public enterprises?
Privatisation in the European Union is essential reading for researchers, students and policy-makers interested in privatisation, EU policy and the history of public enterprises.

Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and public enterprises have been perceived as organisations evolving in separate, even antagonistic, business, economic and ideological spheres. Yet, at the beginning of the 21st Century, utilities in energy, telecommunications, transport and water unexpectedly emerged as leading TNCs. How and why did this remarkable and unprecedented transition occur? What are the consequences for competition, regulation, public services and consumers? Leading authorities from Europe, Russia, Canada, Mexico and the United States analyse the business, economic and historical contexts that have influenced these changes.

At the end of the 1970s, the prospect of privatising public enterprises which operated in sectors such as water, telecommunications, railways or air transportation seemed a thoroughly unappealing one in political terms. Not even the future privatisation champion, the British Conservative Party, envisaged this kind of reform when it came to power in 1979. with the EU region at the forefront of these developments. What are the factors that explain this shift? This text rejects the two dominant explanations provided in literature, which include a simple Americanisation of policy and a varied privatisation experience without a common driving force. country from the 1980s to the beginning of the twenty first century, the authors show how the process of European integration and the need for internationally competitive industries have constituted key driving forces in the quest for privatisation across the EU. As privatisation slows down at the turn of the millennium, what future can citizens expect for public enterprises?

Regional development banks (RDB) have become increasingly important in the world economy, but have also been relatively under-researched to date. This timely volume addresses this lack of attention by providing a comprehensive, comparative, and empirically informed analysis of their origins, evolution, and contemporary role in the world economy through to the second decade of the twenty-first century. In Regional Development Banks in the World Economy, the editors provide an analytical framework that includes a revised categorisation of RDB by geographic operation and function. Part one offers detailed analyses of the origins, evolution, and contemporary role of the major RDB, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Central American Bank, the Andean Development Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Part two offers comparative analyses of key topics on RDB, examining their initial design and their changing business models, their shifting role in promoting policies supported by the United States as hegemon and the private sector. The volume ends with a critical reflection on the role played by RDB to date and a strong defence of the need for these banks in an increasingly complex world economy.