ABSTRACT
The relationship between public enterprise and the public exchequer is a topic which has special relevance to developing economies. The financial results and strategies of public enterprises have often been treated as matters of management efficiency. There is no need to de-emphasise this view; in fact in the less developed countries there is particular merit in such an approach. However, the thought that is projected here is that too little recognition is given, in effective terms, to the implications of the financial results and strategies of public enterprises for the public exchequer. The impacts are both quantitative and qualitative. Several aspects of public enterprise operations overlap those of the public exchequer and the budgeting authority. It is, therefore, desirable to conceive of mutual compatibility in operational terms. This is not a plea for eclipsing the managerial autonomy of public enterprises.
