The State is typically the largest actor in national economies. In addition to regulation, and investment in public goods, state-owned enterprises have predominated. We propose to re-orient our understanding of SOEs by studying their underlying purposes within the broader scope of national political economies as well as in correcting market failures; complementing private endeavors and providing goods and services to marginalized or emerging sectors of society. A wide geographic and chronological range of studies serves to highlight underlying commonalities of the logic and goals of SOEs, while emphasizing the diversity of their organizational forms, governance structures and outcomes