Privatization and development : insights from a holistic approach with special reference to the case of Jordan

After three decades of state intervention throughout theworld the 1980s and 1990s have seen a marked reversal.Instead of government control and centralized planningthere has been a renewed emphasis on market-orientedstrategy. Privatization constitutes one of thecornerstones of this strategy.The relationship between privatization and development iscomplex because privatization transforms the institutionalframework through which people usually expound, negotiate,and promote their individual and group interests.In theory, privatization should assist in overcoming theproblems of poverty and sustainable development throughthe "trickle down" effect. In this thesis, however, itwill be argued that privatization in developing countriesand in Jordan as a case study would not exclusively lead,on the grounds of efficiency, to a successful cure for theeconomic ills of those countries.The thesis also developed and applied to Jordan amethodology of analyzing privatization which departs fromthe mainstream view. This methodology considersprivatization as one part of a whole system and can beunderstood within the context of development only in termsof the whole system. Thus, privatization is linked as aneconomic, social and political phenomenon with decentralization, participation, and development.The thesis concluded that development may meandecentralization, which certainly means participation, butprivatization will not necessarily secure participation.It depends on how it is designed and implemented. Ifprivatization is to be sustainable and people-centred, it_has to be gradual, relatively crisis-free, untroubled andunenforced, marked by the fusion of collectiveparticipation from below (e.g., grass roots) andindividual participation in the market place. This willdepend exclusively on the commitment of the decisionmakers and their vision of empowering the people