SOE reform presents a challenge in any country, and especially in Russia where the sector is large and less productive, but where reform has been politically difficult. How should the World Bank engage in such a context? This session presented findings from a new World Bank study that approached this priority reform from the angle of SOE employment practices, their interactions with the broader labor market, and implications for SOE performance. The discussion presented findings of the SOE sector’s size and diversity, compensation and management practices, and varied effects on markets and productivity. It also addressed the state’s role in sustaining some of the observed inefficiencies, and possible directions for policy dialogue.
Participants learned a new approach to SOE sector analyses and client engagement in a challenging setting and data and methodology to assess the public companies’ internal capabilities and implications for labor markets and firm productivity.