ABSTRACT
Budgetary-constrained governments, facing fiscal pressures have sometimes privatized mainly to finance fiscal deficit with the privatization proceeds. The issues of privatization have been reviewed in a large literature on the various aspects of privatization, and this literature has emphasized the potential efficiency gains. This chapter provides some theoretical reasoning why privatization is useful and has occurred and illustrates the extent of privatization in Austria. It presents the privatization proceeds for Austria and the one of the Vienna Airport. The chapter investigates to what extent privatization has occurred in the European Union and in Austria. Privatization and proceeds from privatization have been substantial all over the world. Privatization has certainly been a key element of structural reform in the European Union countries, including Austria, and proceeds from privatization have been substantial in most of these countries. The first "wave" of privatization of the Vienna Airport spanned the years 1992 to 1995.
