The Veil of Vouchers

The author exposes some of the myths still surrounding the use of vouchers in mass privatization. He explains why using vouchers will not affect the price level in the economy-even though they carry a face value. He shows that vouchers allow assets...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ramachandran, S.
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
BID
GNP
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1997/04/441451/veil-vouchers
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11590
Description
Summary:The author exposes some of the myths still surrounding the use of vouchers in mass privatization. He explains why using vouchers will not affect the price level in the economy-even though they carry a face value. He shows that vouchers allow assets to sell despite minimum acceptable bid prices because the secondary market discount of voucher prices acts as a safety valve. And he argues that vouchers do not create purchasing power or overcome capital shortages, as many claim. But why use them? He explains that vouchers help avoid rapid changes in the money supply that could have significant, real short-term effects. And they help create some harmless illusions-allowing reformers to avoid claims of selling assets too cheaply-and so safeguard the difficult transition to a market economy.