David Parker is Professor of Business Economics and Strategy at Aston University, UK. He is a consultant on privatisation and regulation to companies and governments in the UK and overseas. His most recently published works include The Impact of Privatisation: Ownership and Corporate Performance in the UK (Routledge, 1997).

• Preface 1 Introduction 2 Privatisation in the European Union: an overview 3 Theoretical perspectives on privatisation: some outstanding issues 4 The privatisation experiment in Austria 5 Privatisation in an industrial policy perspective: the case of France 6 Privatisation in Germany: symbolism in the social market economy? 7 Privatisation in Greece 8 The importance of state enterprises in the Irish economy and the future for privatisation 9 Privatisation in Italy: a tale of ‘capture’ 10 Privatisation in Finland, Sweden and Denmark: fashion or necessity? 11 The privatisation of state enterprises in the Spanish economy 12 Privatisation in the UK: policy and performance 13 Privatisation and deregulation in the Netherlands