Privatization and Fiscal Deficits in European Emerging Markets

Privatization and fiscal deficits have been linked theoretically as emerging market countries completed transitions from command to market-based economies. This study examines the joint relationships among relative fiscal deficits, privatization, and exogenous factors for twenty-five Central and Eastern European emerging market countries. Pooled regression models suggest that increased privatization does not reduce fiscal deficits, but fiscal deficits increase as privatization increases over time. These effects are dependent upon the set of countries considered and the privatization measure employed. There is limited support for the hypothesis that privatization is increased when fiscal deficits decline for the nine early privatizers.