An excellent general overview of the movement towards deregulation, liberalization and privatisation, both in the US and in the UK, is provided by:
Dennis Swann (1988) The Retreat of the State, Harvester Wheatsheaf: Hemel Hempstead.
This book sketches the historical background up to the end of the 1970s, analyses the forces leading to regulatory change in the two countries, and describes the policy developments that occurred during the 1980s.
The experience of various different industries during the era of deregulation and privatisation can be found in two books of readings:
John Kay et al. (1986)Privatisation and Regulation: The UK Experience, Clarendon Press: Oxford.
Most of the articles were originally published in the years 1984 and 1985 in the journal, Fiscal Studies, and concern industries such as express coaching, telecommunications, gas, electricity supply, the scheduled airlines and the railways.
A more recently published group of readings concerning the means of increasing competitive pressure in publicly owned or hitherto publicly owned industries can be found in:
Cento Veljanovski (ed.) (1989) Privatisation and Competition, Hobart Paperback 28, Institute of Economic Affairs: London.
A further set of papers which covers the issues surveyed in Module 9 has been edited by Peter Jackson and Catherine Price (1994) Privatisation and Regulation: A Review of the Issues, Longman: London and New York.
In the area of liberalization, a down-to-earth manual has been written for Local Authority Officials to help them operate the policy of offering local services to competing contractors. In Managing Competition: Tendering for Local Government Services (1988), HMSO, the problems discussed in the course text are investigated and practical means to cope in various situations are suggested. This is a useful document to study if your firm is in the market for government contracts, and also a supplement to Module 5 reading.
A study of competitive tendering in the UK and in other countries can be found in Robert Carnaghan and Barry Bracewell-Milnes (1993) Testing the Market. Competitive Tendering for Government Services in Britain and Abroad, Research Monograph 49, Institute of Economic Affairs: London.
