ABSTRACT
For the major part of the twentieth century, a key topic of political economy was the question of the appropriate scope of government suppliers of goods and services relative to private suppliers. In the socialist-planned economies of the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China, state enterprises dominated most of the economy. Moreover, a great number of developing countries sought economic growth via state-owned firms in key sectors of the economy where often some 10–12% of the national output was produced.
