Estimation of Sociopolitical Determinants in the Privatization of Oil Companies.

This work presents new evidence on the determinants of privatization of National Oil Companies (NOC) from a panel data of 49 oil-producing countries for the period comprised between 1996 and 2014. We find – ceteris paribus – that countries with greater control of corruption, a perception of high government effectiveness, a more participatory political system, greater regulatory quality, and high efficiency in the execution of contracts and property rights, are more likely to privatize their NOCs, compared with countries that have a lower level in these governance indicators. Likewise, in terms of the control variables, the results of previous studies were ratified regarding the way in which high oil prices negatively influence the probability of privatization of oil companies, while its deviation from the trend and population have a positive effect on these.

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