Political economy of privatization in Hungary: A progress report
This paper focuses on the political economy of privatization in its second phase in Hungary, the country which, overall, has gone furthest in privatizing public utilities, introducing elements of competition and setting up regulatory mechanisms and institutions to monitor them. The background to Hungary's reform path, the antecedents to privatization, the debate on the issues, the institutional framework and the progress of privatization in Hungary up to late 1993/early 1994 are well-documented elsewhere, including by the present authors. Therefore, the paper presents a brief review of the evolutionary path of Hungary's privatization "vision", policy and strategy under the government of Jozsef Antall (1990-1994), and attempts to identify the factors influencing this evolution. Developments regarding privatization under the reform- socialist/liberal coalition government led by Gyula Horn, which came to power in 1994, and a detailed examination of the privatization of the major utilities and the regulatory environment currently in place, forms the core of this study. Finally, the paper sets the above in the context of the overall development of the private sector in Hungary.
Competition Policy and the Transformation of Central Europe
This book examines the implementation of competition policy during the 1990s in Hungary, Poland, and the Czech and Slovak Republics. It looks at the economic predicament of countries in transition, considering how far this has required the state to actively police the competitive process. It assesses the extent to which initial economic and political conditions have constrained the involvement of the state in such activity. It then analyzes the statutes of the countries and the structure of the institutions established to implement competition policy. A comprehensive discussion of the case law and the experience of policy in practice is used to suggest lessons for the task of competition policy, both in these countries and in others undergoing the transition from central planning. This book will be valuable not just for those interested in competition policy but for all students of the political economy of transition.
The economics of the open university revisited
Revision of earlier cost calculations for the Open University and Conventional Universities in the U.K. for 1973 confirms the findings of a significant cost advantage to the Open University. An analysis of developments at the Open University since 1973 indicates, however, that there has been little reduction in average cost in real terms and no improvement is likely on known developments to 1979. This is surprising for it might be expected that as student numbers rise average costs would fall. A more detailed analysis of the structure of Open University costs indicates why this has not happened. A major determinant of costs is the number of courses and these have continued to grow rapidly since 1973. The rate of increase of new courses has been faster than the rate of increase of new students. In effect the University has been using the economies provided by increased student numbers to increase student choice through the provision of more courses rather than reduce average cost.Average cost could be reduced whilst keeping the same number of courses by changing the components of the teaching system such as broadcasting. If such fundamental changes were not acceptable then an alternative would be to change the mix of courses between the relatively expensive science and technology areas and the cheaper arts and social science areas. A further alternative is to keep the same mix but ensure a longer life for science and technology courses.