Discussion of Dr Marsan’s Paper

Abstract

Mrs Martíhez-Tarragó said that Dr Marsan’s paper had summarised in a clear and interesting way Italy’s experience with public enterprise. The macroeconomic objectives pursued by the public sector had been the generation of employment and the promotion of balanced regional development. The social objectives were determined by the government, as a political decision. The role of the State Holding System was, according to Marsan, (a) to insure that the restrictions of a political nature remained within the limits imposed by the interests of the enterprise, (b) to quantify the social costs of a project and to assure that they were of a temporary nature, (c) to try to minimise social costs, and (d) to use profit and loss accounts as a gauge of the enterprise’s efficiency. The treatment of the subject was very interesting, but opened a series of questions.