Deregulation and Industrial Change: A Comparative Study of the Electricity Sectors of New Zealand and the Gambia

This paper reports a three-year study on the content and process of change associated with the deregulation of the electricity industries in a developed country (New Zealand) and a developing country (The Gambia). The study focused on the scope of change, the process of implementation, the obstacles to change, and the outcomes of change. It employed a case study methodology using semi-structured interviews for primary data collection. A major contribution has been to throw into sharper relief the instrumental effects of a lack of economic development on change programs that are carried out to establish structures and procedures that would enhance the cost-efficiency and effectiveness of key infrastructural industries such as electricity. These effects include the dependence on external bodies for financial aid; the multiplicity of priorities expected of the electricity industry; the absence of a thriving private sector; and the low rate of literacy.