Abstract
It is normally accepted that the public sector includes, on the one hand, the public service, consisting of State administrations and public bodies throughout the country (at the regional and local levels) and, on the other hand, public enterprises, which are owned wholly or in part by the State or regional public authorities. In general, for the purposes of the paper, the concept of the public sector is understood in its broadest sense, that is covering all public administrations, irrespective of their level and enterprises wholly or partly owned by public bodies at whatever level.