Briefs Macroeconomic Analysis

The Threat of Privatization for the Emerging Generation

March 20, 2017

By Aman Banerji, Joelle Gamble

In “The Threat of Privatization for the Emerging Generation,” Roosevelt’s Joelle Gamble and Aman Banerji, document the rise of Privatization—the process through which basic public goods such as water, education, and energy, are sold off to the private sector in the name of efficiency and cost reduction for taxpayers. They argue that the most potent danger of privatization comes from the lack of democratic control over the provision of public goods and services.

The brief demonstrates that the impacts of privatization will be deeply felt by younger generations. People under 35 are impacted by the rising costs of education, increasing incarceration rates, and the draining of living wage opportunities at rates that will set back our economic prospects for the foreseeable future. This is why we must take action now by tackling the effects of privatization in our own communities.

Tags: Antitrust, Corporate Governance, Democratic Governance, Industrial Policy and Trade