Public Enterprises: Unresolved Challenges and New Opportunities

This publication presents new challenges and opportunities now open to public enterprises (PEs) around the globe. In recent decades, the private sector has expanded substantially, while the public sector has subsequently shrunken in size. Although this trajectory has been beneficial for some countries, in others PEs remain a significant source of employment and provision of government resources. This publication analyzes how optimal PEs should operate today given modern constraints due to globalization. Topics such as the purpose of PEs, the management of PEs and the usefulness of PEs in development are explored.