Privatization, efficiency, and economic growth

Privatization is shown to increase national economic output in a twosector Jull-employment general-equilibrium model by enhancing efficiency as if a relative price distortion were being removed through price reform, trade liberalization, or stabilization. The static output gain from reallocation and reorganization through privatization is captured in a simple formula in which the gain is a quadratic function of the original distortion stemming from an excessive public sector. Substitution of plausible parameter values into the formula indicates that, in practice, the static output gain from privatization may be large. The potential dynamic output gain from privatization also appears to be substantial.