In this article from Viewpoint, NERA Senior Vice President Dr. Jeff D. Makholm discusses the motives behind worldwide privatization efforts, as well as the organizational opposition and economic obstacles newly-privatized markets must face. Dr. Makholm argues that, in general, privatization efforts that do not consider where markets are likely to work relatively well—and at relatively low cost—will face severe problems by imposing increased strain on already fragile economic and social structures. He notes that while privatization is almost certainly very durable in Western Europe and other OECD countries, the durability of privatization is much less certain in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states.