ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The idea that under private ownership resources are used more efficiently has been employed as a central argument for privatisation (Littlechild, 1981; Beesley and Littlechild, 1983; Kay and Thompson, 1986; Vickers and Yarrow, 1988; Moore, 1992, p. 117). Later in the book we provide further evidence on the impact of privatisation in the UK. But in this chapter we review earlier studies of public versus private sector efficiency to place the later studies in context. There have been many such studies, including some on the effects of privatisation, and it is not possible to review all of them. The aim is to provide a broad overview of the approaches adopted to measuring performance and the results.
