Leiden University Student Repository

Lee, Man-ho (2017)

Comparing the roles of states in state-owned enterprises

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

This paper deals with the current rise of state-owned airlines, especially from the Middle East and China, which have been rapidly gaining market share at the expense of privately-owned airlines. This development seems to go against the common perception of state-owned enterprises as being inefficient and not competitive due to state involvement compared to privatised enterprises. Therefore, this paper has examined the role of the state in two state-owned airlines, Emirates and China Southern Airlines, and tries to examine whether the state involvement in both airlines is similar to each other as both show higher passenger growth and profits than privatised airlines, even though they are state-owned. This research has shown that despite the success of Emirates and China Southern Airlines, both still show major differences in state involvement, especially in the extent to which both states are involved in the control and use of the airlines for larger economic purposes.

Airline industry

China Southern Airlines

Developmental state

Emirates

State capitalism

State-owned enterprises

Author

Lee, Man-ho

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

East Asia

Supervisors

Shibata, S.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en