<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Regarding the effectiveness of privatization, two schools of thought are distinguished: a school in favor of privatization in general and a school that judges the success of privatization to be dependent on the institutional context. This article discusses the arguments of both schools and presents a case study on the privatization processes that did take place in Kosovo. The Kosovo case is a critical case as Kosovo was a post-conflict country with a deplorable institutional setting at the time it initiated the privatization processes. If privatization was successful anyway, this would make for a strong argument in favor of privatization in general.The outcomes of the case study show, however, many unintended and negative effects of privatization in the Kosovo context. The conclusion, therefore, disputes the claim that privatization is beneficial in general, irrespective of the institutional setting. Instead, the article makes a plea for creating a favorable institutional setting before starting far-reaching transformations through large-scale privatization.The issues arising from this article are important for policy-makers and international missions considering implementing similar programs to other post-conflict countries.</abstract>

Regarding the effectiveness of privatization, two schools of thought are distinguished: a school in favor of privatization in general and a school that judges the success of privatization to be dependent on the institutional context. This article discusses the arguments of both schools and presents a case study on the privatization processes that did take place in Kosovo. The Kosovo case is a critical case as Kosovo was a post-conflict country with a deplorable institutional setting at the time it initiated the privatization processes. If privatization was successful anyway, this would make for a strong argument in favor of privatization in general.The outcomes of the case study show, however, many unintended and negative effects of privatization in the Kosovo context. The conclusion, therefore, disputes the claim that privatization is beneficial in general, irrespective of the institutional setting. Instead, the article makes a plea for creating a favorable institutional setting before starting far-reaching transformations through large-scale privatization.The issues arising from this article are important for policy-makers and international missions considering implementing similar programs to other post-conflict countries.

Privatization in an Adverse Institutional Context: The Case of Kosovo

Bardhyl Dobra is a PhD student at the Ghent University and Executive Secretary of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration, Brussels, Belgium

Michiel S de Vries is full professor and chair of the department of Public Administration, Radboud University Nijmegen, Institute for Management Research, The Netherlands

NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Privatization in an Adverse Institutional Context: The Case of Kosovo"}

Regarding the effectiveness of privatization, two schools of thought are distinguished: a school in favor of privatization in general and a school that judges...

Privatization in an Adverse Institutional Context: The Case of Kosovo

Published Online: Aug 02, 2016

Page range: 9 - 30

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nispa-2016-0001

Keywords
privatization, institutional framework, Kosovo, post-conflict state building

© 2016 NISPAcee

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Privatization in an Adverse Institutional Context: The Case of Kosovo

Published Online: Aug 02, 2016

Page range: 9 - 30

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nispa-2016-0001

Keywordsprivatization, institutional framework, Kosovo, post-conflict state building

© 2016 NISPAcee

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
privatization, institutional framework, Kosovo, post-conflict state building