PUBLIC-ENTERPRISE REFORM IN PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA

This paper reviews the package of financial and economic policies toward the major public enterprises which was introduced by the Papua New Guinea government in 1983. The central premise of the package was that public enterprises would operate more efficiently if required to function along essentially commercial lines. Financial data for 1980-88 indicate that there has been a significant improvement in the sector's financial performance over the period. While economic data are less clearcut the reform package appears to have been reasonably successful.