On State-owned Enterprises Reform Of Property Rights And The Role Of Government

SOEs' proficiency has been poor since their existence. Wth the development of the market economy since openning to the outside and reform, SOEs' performance has been so unadaptable to the market and so improficient that they fell into a dilema. It' s taken for granted in the present thesis that they have been troubled by the following deep-rooted problems: Firstly, various implicit costs such as political costs, social costs, reform costs, historical costs, corruption costs, sunk costs and human resources costs; secondly, the separation of power, duty and risks in their daily and reform management; thirdly, the adoption of symptom treatment rather than root treatment in the reform process; fourthly, the adoption of stereotype appointment of SOEs' s leaders rather than by their capability and proficiency; finally, the unreasonable structure of SOEs, namely too many in number and too large in scope. To thoroughly promote the proficiency of SOEs, it' s a must to eradicate all the problems and the method is reform.Upon almost 48 years of exploration, especially the past practice of more than 20 years since the adoption of the open door and reform policy, an effective reform breakthrough for SOEs has been found: the reform of property-rights. Practice at home and abroad has proved that SOEs' proficiency are generally better following property-rights reform. In the meantime, it has been proved that only property-rights reform is not adequate because of its limitations. This provides much space for the development and application of the post-property-rights theory as well as the reform in other areas such as the change of government fuctions.The SOEs reform in our country has always been activated and governed by the government for the natural relationship beween SOEs and the government. The worldwide problem is that how government defines its own functions and that how it reforms and mangages SOEs according to the changing situation. In retrospect to the difficult SOEs' reform process of our country, the SOEs reform involves not only the progress on the inner management , but also the progress of the outer system change, which is relevant to various kinds of social relationship, among which the most important is the one between the government and SOEs in and after the reform. SOEs' reform and government positioning are actually two interwoven processes. The former is automatically relevant to the government position and function which forms a significant part in the entire system environment of SOEs' reform. Because of their logical relationship, we have to make it clear the guiding thoughts for SOEs' reform and government positioning. With the guiding thoughts for SOEs' reform, we can reform government functions and establish a new type of relationship between government and SOEs. Based upon this and the new research achievement in this asspect abroad, I venture to define the fuctions of our government as the owner and supervisor of state-property; the designer and adjuster of macro-economy; the planner, law-executer and supervisor for the market; industry laws and rules maker; expoiter for the international market; and vindicator of the social insurance system.