Mass Privatisation Program in Romania - Outcomes and Puzzles
Mass Privatisation Program in Romania - Outcomes and Puzzles

Summary/Abstract: The Romanian Mass Privatisation Program (MPP) holds a particular position in the wider scene of transition and privatisation in Central and Eastern Europe. The aspect that individualises Romania's privatisation program in the larger context of former communist countries is related to its highly controversial design, which has been charged with allegations of purposely aiming to maintain the State control, even after the conclusion of the program. Numerous debates have emerged, in Parliament, mass media or in academia, trying to assess both the officially acknowledged and the hidden objectives and goals of the initially designed strategy. The results of these analyses are, unsurprisingly, very controversial, but, to a great extent, the conflicting arguments seem to be unable to discard the assumption of high interplay of interests between the economic and political factors associated with privatisation. This paper provides an overview of the Romanian Mass Privatisation Program, followed by an attempt to explain its multiple puzzles, by surveying the declared and the hidden interests embodied by the privatisation process.

• Details
• Contents