Luc Bernier is Jarislowsky Chair of Public Sector Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada.

Massimo Florio is Professor of Public Economics at the University of Milan, Italy, and the President of the CIRIEC International Scientific Commission Public Enterprises/Public Services.

Philippe Bance is Professor of Economics at the University of the French Antilles and the President of the International Scientific Council of CIRIEC (International Centre of Research and Information of Public, Social and Cooperative Economy).

Introduction Part I: The Scope of the Phenomenon 1. History of Western State-Owned Enterprises: From the Industrial Revolution to the Age of Globalization 2. Local Public Enterprises as Providers of Public Services in European Countries: Shifts and Dynamics 3. State-Owned Enterprises: Rising, Falling and Returning? A Brief Overview 4. State-Owned Enterprises and the Public Mission: A Multidimensional Lens 5. Varieties of State Capitalism and Reformed State-Owned Enterprises in the New Millennium Part II: Perspectives on History and Geography 6. Concepts of German Gemeinwirtschaftslehre and the Changed Role of Public Enterprises 7.
State-Owned Enterprise and Privatisation: Some Lessons from the UK 8. On Traits of Legitimate Internationally Present State-Owned Enterprises 9. State-Owned Enterprises and Industrial Development in Latin America 10. The Industrial Policy Role of European State-Invested Enterprises in the 21st Century: Continuity and Change across Phases of Domestic and Global Transformation 11. State-Owned Enterprises in Contemporary China Part III: Approaches to the Study of SOEs 12. Economics of State-Owned Enterprises 13. State-Owned Enterprises as Institutional Market Actors: A Gradual Institutional Change Perspective on Domestic SOEs in the Marketization of Public Services 14. Legal Aspects of Public Enterprises: Remarks Based on a Comparative Study of French, European and American Legislation 15. Don't Get Too Excited: The Structural Limits of State-Owned Enterprises in Capitalist Economies 16. Motivation and Performance in State-Owned Enterprises 17. The Politics of State-Owned Enterprises: The case of the rail sector 18. Principals and Agents: The Relationship between Governments and State-Owned Enterprises Part IV: Financial Dimensions of Public Ownership 19. Public Stock Ownership 20. Financialisation and the future for SOEs 21. Sovereign Wealth Funds as Internaional Institutional Investors: A Re-evaluation 4.4 Contemporary Development Financial Institutions in Europe 4.5 State-Owned Enterprise Hybrids Part V: Issues About Governance 24. Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises: Conceptualization, Challenges and Perspectives for the Public Corporate Governance Field 25. Corporate Governance in State-Owned Enterprises: The Role of Informal Institutions 26. Public Accountability of State-Owned Enterprises: Approaches and Research Trends 27. Utilities Policy and Reform: The Changing Relationship Between Citizens and SOEs 28. Vox Populi, Vox Dei: State-Owned Enterprises in the Court of Public Opinion 29. State-Owned Organization Strategy: At the Interface of Society and Business Part VI: The Activities and Performance of SOEs 30. The Performance of Public Enterprises 31. State-Owned Enterprises as Policy Tools 32. (Re)municipalisation: A New Era for Ownership and Control of Local Public Service Delivery? Part VII: SOEs and Innovation: A New Frontier 33. Mission-oriented Public Organizations for Knowledge Creation 34. Reconsidering Innovation in State-Owned Enterprises 35. The Role of State-Owned Enterprises as Drivers of Innovation Conclusion: Where do we go now?