The Impact of Development and Privatization on Environmental Protection: An International Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to add to the body of knowledge and understanding of the impact of development and privatization on international environmental protection with the focus on balancing social and economic performance for the affected organizations and communities. More specifically, supported by a database of worldwide, regional, and country studies from 1991 to 2000, it is proposed that the role of development and privatization in environmental administration in the international context has negative as well as positive consequences. Moreover, the negative consequences are often masked or go undetected because the effectiveness of development and privatization is based primarily on economic performance. Thus, to obtain a more accurate and realistic determination of the effectiveness of development and privatization, measures of social as well as economic performance and the overall effect on the natural environment should be considered.