At the end of the century, privatization has become a worldwide phenomenon. It is taking place in what was once called the first, the second, and the third world. The volume mirrors this expansion of privatization. In Part I on the economics of privatization, historical, theoretical, and politico-economic issues are covered. In Part II country studies are presented for China, the Czech Republic, Eastern Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Russia and the United Kingdom. In Part III a broader view on privatization is taken by including deregulation and the private provision of public goods and services.The book contains contributions by D.Bös, T.Eggertsson, R.P.Heinrich, P. Jasinski, H.Klodt, B.Krug, D.Lal, S.C.Littlechild, M. Mejstrik, P.Mihalyi, P.Plane, J.-J.Rosa, K.M.Schmidt and M.Schnitzer, and U.Siegmund.