National Champions and the Multi-agency Problem: The Limits of State Capitalism from the Perspective of Institutional Economics

The conceptMulti-agency problem (Mariusz Jerzy Golecki) of the so-called “national championsRegulation of “National Champions” (Mariusz Jerzy Golecki)” refers to companies that are considered vital to the national interest, especially in strategic sectors such as the energy or defence industries. Generally, there are two sources of their particular significance for both the national economy and the security policy. Firstly, some companies may have access to unique resources relevant to economic and security considerations. Secondly, the lack of control over a given company may result in externality effects on the national economy. Typically, the situation results from the so-called spin-off effect in terms of specific assets such as infrastructure. Both situations usually lead to a form of protectionism and state control over the management. The chapter will then address both, the challenges related to Public vs private management (Mariusz Jerzy Golecki)public management analysed from the perspective of institutional economicsInstitutional Law & Economics (Mariusz Jerzy Golecki) and public choice theory. This leads to the question of which of these two strategies, based on private or public law respectively is more effective and leads to less inefficiency.