Editing State ownership (section)

{{Short description|Ownership of industry, assets, or businesses by a public body}}
{{redirect|State property|the socialist concept|Social ownership|other uses|State property (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Common good|Public good (economics)}}
{{economic systems sidebar}}
[[File:Valsts ipasums Meistaru iela 23.jpg|thumb|A house number plaque marking state property in [[Riga]], Latvia]]
'''State ownership''', also called '''public ownership''' or '''government ownership''', is the ownership of an [[Industry (economics)|industry]], [[asset]], [[property]], or [[Business|enterprise]] by the  national government of a country or [[State (polity)|state]], or a [[public body]] representing a community, as opposed to an [[individual]] or [[Private property|private party]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/public_ownership|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012439/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/public_ownership|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 26, 2018|title=Public Ownership |website= Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=January 25, 2018|quote= Ownership by the government of an asset, corporation, or industry. }}</ref> Public ownership specifically refers to industries selling goods and services to consumers and differs from [[Public good|public good]]s and government services financed out of a [[Government budget|government's general budget]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/public-ownership/|title=Public Ownership |last= Tupper|first=Allan |publisher=Historica Canada |date=February 7, 2006 |website= The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=January 25, 2018|quote= public ownership generally refers to enterprises, wholly or partially government owned, which sell goods and services at a price according to use. According to this definition, government-owned railways, airlines, and utilities are examples of public ownership, but hospitals, highways and public schools are not. }}</ref> Public ownership can take place at the [[Central government|national]], [[regional government|regional]], [[local government|local]], or [[municipal]] levels of government; or can refer to non-governmental public ownership vested in autonomous [[public enterprise]]s. Public ownership is one of the three major forms of property ownership, differentiated from private, [[Collective ownership|collective]]/[[cooperative]], and [[common ownership]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Comparing Economic Systems in the Twenty-First Century |year=2003 |last1=Gregory |first1=Paul R. |last2=Stuart |first2=Robert C. |location=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=0-618-26181-8 |pages=27 |quote=There are three broad forms of property ownership-private, public, and collective (cooperative).}}</ref>

In [[market-based]] economies, state-owned assets are often managed and operated as [[joint-stock corporation]]s with a government owning all or a controlling stake of the company's [[Share (finance)|shares]]. This form is often referred to as a [[state-owned enterprise]]. A state-owned enterprise might variously operate as a [[Nonprofit corporation]], as it may not be required to generate a profit; as a commercial enterprise in competitive sectors; or as a [[natural monopoly]]. Governments may also use the profitable entities they own to support the general budget. The creation of a state-owned enterprise from other forms of public property is called [[corporatization]].

In [[Soviet-type economies]], state property was the dominant form of industry as property. The state held a monopoly on land and natural resources, and enterprises operated under the legal framework of a nominally [[planned economy]], and thus according to different criteria than enterprises in market and mixed economies.

[[Nationalization]] is a process of transferring private or municipal assets to a central government or state entity. [[Municipalization]] is the process of transferring private or state assets to a municipal government.