Reform of State-Owned Enterprises: Lessons from World Bank Lending

摘要

The World Bank has long worked to strengthen individual state-owned enterprises (SOEs). SOE sector reform does not mean tackling all issues or all enterprises at once. In smaller economies where the the public enterprise sector plays a major role, a comprehensive approach to the state-owned sector may be the best way to assure that SOE reforms are coordinated with changes in macro policy and to conserve on scarce administrative skills. The supply response to structural adjustment programs will often depend on the success of the work on state enterprises. In larger economies a comprehensive approach may be neither desirable or feasible. Yet even with a sector-by-sector approach the most important first step will be to clarify the basic objectives and operating principles of all SOEs. (Copyright (c) 1989 The World Bank.)