Reassessing The Role Of State Owned Enterprises In Central Eastern And Southeastern Europe

The Central, Eastern, and South Eastern European (CESEE) region is ripe for a reassessment of the role of the state in economic activity. The rapid income convergence with Western Europe of the early 2000s was not always equally shared across society, and it has now slowed dramatically in many countries of the region.

The Central, Eastern, and South Eastern European (CESEE) region is ripe for a reassessment of the role of the state in economic activity. The rapid income convergence with Western Europe of the early 2000s was not always equally shared across society, and it has now slowed dramatically in many countries of the region.

The future sustainable economic development and well-being of citizens in South East Europe depend on greater economic competitiveness. Reinforcing the region’s economic potential in a post-COVID-19 context requires a holistic, inclusive and growth‐oriented approach to policy making.

The remuneration of board members and key executives of listed companies has received considerable attention in the past decade. The same issue has yet to be fully addressed in the case of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This report seeks to fill the gap by taking stock of the policies and practices underpinning the remuneration of supervisory board members and executive managers of SOEs across 36 OECD member and partner countries.

Prior to the COVID-19 shock, the key challenge facing policymakers in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia region was how to generate strong, sustainable, job-rich, inclusive growth. Post-COVID-19, this challenge has only grown given the additional reduction in fiscal space due to the crisis and the increased need to support the recovery. The sizable state-owned enterprise (SOE) footprint in the region, together with its cost to the government, call for revisiting the SOE sector to help open fiscal space and look for growth opportunities.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) combine economic activities resulting from their position on the market with non-economic functions determined by the state owner. In many of the world’s major economies, SOEs play an important role, and in some, such as China, India, Russia and Brazil, they are outright dominant. At the same time, the existence of SOEs is largely ignored by economic theory and the current figures on SOEs on a global scale available in the literature are questionable in terms of their methodological validity and thus they do not allow for a proper cross-country analysis. This book fills this research gap. It focuses on the scope and importance of SOEs in a broad group of the largest economies, primarily on a variety of quantitative estimates. It contains the results of an extensive and unique empirical study of 37 of the world’s largest economies over the period from 2009 to 2018. The findings showed that the average share of SOEs – measured by operating revenues and total assets – in the group of the largest 100 enterprises (Top 100) of a given country is nearly 30%, while in the Top 20 group it is even slightly higher. The authors present an econometric analysis showing the relationship between the scope of SOEs and the various economic and non-economic characteristics of the studied set of countries. The book also contains an in-depth discussion of selected key issues, such as the functions of SOEs in various types of economies, the role of SOEs in capital markets and the phenomenon of SOEs with foreign capital. This work is addressed to both academic economists, dealing with macroeconomics and economic policy, as well as researchers and analysts from various international organizations and think-tanks.

This textbook offers a wide-ranging, comprehensive analysis of the contemporary Russian economy (as it functions in the early 2020s) concentrated on the economy, economic policy, and economic governance. Chapters cover recent Russian economic history, the economic geography of Russia, natural resources, population, major sectors and industries, living standards and social policy, institutions, governance, economic policy, and Russia's role in the global economy. The book will provide a comparative cross-country context, analysing how the Russian economy and its institutions perform compared to its peers to help students and instructors understand Russia’s strengths, weaknesses, and future challenges. Prepared by a team of leading Russian and international experts on the respective topics, this textbook will be of interest to those studying Russian economics. It will be valuable reading for undergraduate and graduate students of Russian studies, the Russian economy, Russian politics, the economics of transition, the economics of emerging markets, and international relations.

Based on a new database of State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) financial statements, we find that SOEs in Bosnia and Herzegovina are mostly in poor financial shape. We estimate the overall size and composition of the SOE sector, and identify individual companies that affect fiscal and macroeconomic performance. Financial analysis suggests that SOEs are not contributing enough to the economy. We also review the SOE governance framework and find that governments do not exercise their ownership function in line with WB/OECD guidelines. Reforms to the governance frameworks are necessary to foster transparency and improve accountability. More fundamental reform of the SOE sector might increase overall GDP by 3 percent per year.

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the six Western Balkan (WB6) economies depends on greater economic competitiveness. Although the gap is closing gradually, the standards of living in WB6 are well below those of the OECD and EU. Accelerating the rate of socio-economic convergence will require a holistic and growth oriented approach to policy making. This is the fourth study of the region (formerly under the title 'Competitiveness in South East Europe') and it comprehensively assesses policy reforms in the WB6 economies across 15 policy areas key to strengthening their competitiveness. It enables WB6 economies to compare economic performance against regional peers, as well as EU-OECD good practices and standards, and to design future policies based on rich evidence and actionable policy recommendations. The regional profile presents assessment findings across five policy clusters crucial to accelerating socio-economic convergence of the WB6 by fostering regional co-operation: business environment, skills, infrastructure and connectivity, digital transformation and greening. Economy-specific profiles complement the regional assessment, offering each WB6 economy an in-depth analysis of their policies supporting competitiveness. They also track the implementation of the previous 2021 study's recommendations and provide additional ones tailored to the economies’ evolving challenges. These recommendations aim to inform structural economic reforms and facilitate the region’s socio-economic convergence towards the standards of the EU and OECD.

For years, China’s rapid economic transformation was hailed as a successful project that lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. However, in recent times, the Chinese narrative has taken a more negative turn in the eyes of the West. Much of this has to do with the US perception about the role of the Chinese state in its economy and its military build-up, especially in the South China Sea. There’s no question, China’s complex economy can be difficult to understand. Information is often unclear and incomplete, and its data are not always reliable. However, this book presents the reader with a clear picture of China’s economy and how it compares to other advanced economies, mainly the United States. The book unwraps the key features and structures of China’s economy. Moreover, it examines and shows the similarities and differences in comparison with other like economies. In that effort, it underscores the differences by evaluating their benefits as well as their disadvantages, against the backdrop of China’s incomplete transition to a market economy. This along with its governance structure becomes the crucial components shaping the way key stakeholders will act and react to opportunities and incentives as that economy evolves. The book supplements the definition of globalization for the academic, the student, the professional and anyone else interested in its positive and negative effects. It is also a good fit for anyone who wants to understand China’s three elements of political economy: global trade, political power and its image on the global stage.