Abstract
Examines the growing trend of privatization, the shift of industries from government hands to the private sector, in Great Britain.
Description
In the 1980s a new trend began to sweep across the capitalist economies of the world: privatization. For 35 years, economic policies supporting nationalization had left many industries stagnant, as a lack of competition caused an increase in prices and a decrease in efficiency. As the privatization movement gained momentum in the economic community, experts began to believe that taking nationalized industries out of the hands of the government and turning them over to the private sector would benefit both taxpayers and businesses alike. The country in the vanguard of economic privatization was Great Britain, where Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher embarked on a privatization campaign that moved hundreds of thousands of jobs into the private sector. As Britain's freight, automotive, and telecom industries underwent a successful transition to the private sector, it became clear that the spread of privatization was all but inevitable. In this special documentary, American Interests travels to Great Britain to examine the privatization trend in Britain and the movement's prospects as a global economic phenomenon.
Location
Europe; Western Europe; Northern Ireland; United Kingdom;
