Finland: Research challenges claim that privatisation leads to increased efficiency

The results of a four-year research project, "Reforming markets and organizations", challenges a number of dominant ideas about the effects of markets and competition. The project was funded by the Academy of Finland and led by Johan Willner, Professor of Economics at the School of Åbo Akademi. The research looked at how efficiency and effectiveness are defined and found that a publicly-owned organisation may be more effective because it is better at achieving goals that are broader than just profit maximisation. The findings also question whether private sector practices such as performance-related pay can be easily transposed into the public sector. Read more here