CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS

MICHAEL J. WHINCOP, Michael J. Whincop

"Recent history has emphasised the potentially devastating effects of governance failures in governments, government agencies, corporations and the institutions of civil society. 'Good governance' is seen as necessary, if not crucial, for economic success and human development. Although the disciplines of law, ethics, politics, economics and management theory can provide insights into the governance of organisations, governance issues can only be dealt with by interdisciplinary studies, combining several (and sometimes all) of those disciplines. This series aims to provide such interdisciplinary studies for students, researchers and relevant practitioners." "Many governments across the world have responded to the need for greater efficiency in the delivery of government services by the reorganization of these bureaucracies along the lines of for-profit business corporations. In doing so, governments have relied on the capacity for governance practices to overcome the weaker incentives created by the attenuated 'property rights' that are created in public enterprise." "This study of the corporate governance of these corporations examines the history of government corporations, the problems associated with mating the corporation to a public use, the possibilities for rent-seeking associated with government corporations, a new body of empirical evidence on governance practices and some of the potential areas for reform in government corporations. It will attract a broad academic audience and will also be of value and interest to a wide range of professional constituencies. It is the only book of its kind to evaluate the corporate governance issues in government corporations."--Jacket.