The liberalisation and privatisation movement which started in the UK and New Zealand in the 1980s was intended to remove detailed government control from otherwise competitive markets. In promoting reform of infrastructure industries in developing states country institutions and sector governance play an important role. Most reforming developed and larger developing countries have tended to adopt USA or UK institutional frameworks, especially for the management of competition matters and the regulation of utility industries. These governance structures are now being called in to question, particularly as to their suitability for small developing countries, where problems of economies scale make it difficult to finance and sustain several agencies. The OECS countries and the Barbadian approaches of a hybrid agency demonstrate new and innovative solutions to the institutional problem of small and micro-states.
