Privatization and redistribution of assets of public enterprises in developing countries: the case of Côte D'Ivoire

• Main Author: Yapi, Jean N.
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center 2001
• Subjects: International and Area Studies
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/609; http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2128&context=dissertations

The dissertation set out to explore whether privatization led to the concentration of shares of privatized public enterprises in the hands of a few. To reach this objective three indicators were developed. The three indicators were: (1) the prominence of the stock market; (2) the prominence of the employees’ ownership shares of the privatized Public Enterprises (PEs); and (3) the prominence of the state’s ownership after privatization. Although, the researcher found that there was a concentration of PEs’ shares in the hands of a mutual fund and holding company, the presence of the state remained strong. The researcher also found that it was extremely difficult to conduct research regarding the concentration of economic resources in developing countries. In effect the systemic, methodological, and contextual difficulties that the researcher encountered in field work, data collection, data review and data analysis revealed that it was difficult to find out the organization or individual behind the transactions that have been undertaken during the privatization process. This limited greatly the significance of the study. The result is the dissertation was re-oriented to the theoretical and to the researcher’s normative discourse on equity and development in privatization.