ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the thought that for a full understanding of the nature and problems of public enterprise in developing countries. The development status of several countries was so low that the first efforts towards development involved them in heavy costs that were analogous to overheads of national economic development. A significant proportion of these devolved on public enterprises which happened to be the vehicle of the development strategy. The aspect of the development perspective is that the costs of national gestation, though applicable to private enterprises as well, are disproportionately associated with public enterprises; for, most of the countries have development plans which are based on macro preferences that work towards the emergence of public enterprises almost without choice. A third historical fact, which intensified the burdens of national costs of development borne by public enterprises representing the beginnings of national development efforts, came into being in the early years of national independence in many cases.
