Privatisation vs Nationalisation

Youds, Catherine (2019) Privatisation vs Nationalisation. Economic Review, 36 (3). ISSN 0265-0290

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Abstract

The debate around nationalisation or privatisation tend to stand at opposite ends of the political spectrum. How much should the government intervene in the market? Is it necessary to intervene in the presence of market failure or is there an underperforming, inefficient service that needs selling to the private sector? Traditionally the Labour party have favoured the nationalisation of key service providers in the UK, whereas the Conservative Party have favoured Privatisation. The public perception of privatisation and nationalisation has changed back and forth the over the past century. However, the key question that needs to be addressed is whether something is best provided by the free market or whether it is best provided by the public sector. Over the last few years, this debate has resurfaced in the UK; the country that was once the leader of privatisation is now reconsidering how public services should be run.