Bank bailouts have wiped out privatization proceeds!

Financial Times, the popular financial daily, has come up with a very interest statistic. First, it has taken proceeds of the last 30 years from Government backed privatisations across the world. And then it has compared those with the amount these very same Governments have put into rescuing crisis hit banks. Do you know what the outcome has come to? Well, it so happens that the privatisation proceeds of roughly US$ 1.8 trillion get nearly wiped out by the US$ 1.7 trillion that has been pumped into various banks in order to bail them out. In other words, Governments have nationalised assets just as they have privatised them. 

You would wonder why there haven't been more privatisations despite the efficiencies that the private companies bring to the table. The answer could be had from the fact that whenever political and economic interests have clashed, it is mostly the former that has prevailed. Thus, Governments may have shown a tendency to indulge in more privatisation. But they have backed off at the very first signs of opposition. Besides, the volatility in capital markets hasn't helped either. And as things stand today, there isn't a very strong chance of privatisation edging out nationalisation over the next few years at least.