In this TEC GWP paper No. 1 (262,72 KB), it is argued that the privatisation process is not simply about changing the ownership or managerial characteristics of an industry. It involves making a complex set of choices about all the factors influencing sector performance and creating the conditions under which private involvement can yield the desired performance improvements. An attempt will be made to assess the way that different sets of choices (about the relative roles of the public and private sectors, form of privatisation, industry structure, and regulatory regime) are likely to affect the outcomes of private sector participation.