Definition of the public sector - What it is, Meaning and Concept

A sector is part of a whole.Depending on the context, it can be a group of people, a set of activities or an area of ​​a territory. Public , on the other hand, is a term that can be used as an adjective to refer to what belongs to the whole community.

The group formed by corporations is called public sector , the institutions and offices of the State .Because the State is a form of organization of society, it is understood that what is state is public , in the sense of that does not belong to a person or a company but is owned by all inhabitants .

Through the public sector organizations, the State executes its policies , fulfills its functions and guarantees compliance with the law .People who work in the public sector are chosen by the population through elections or appointed by officials representing the community.

This particular feature usually leads to an endless series of complaints by the people, supported by the fact that officials should more accurately represent their needs , since they have been chosen by themselves, and that collect their salaries thanks to the fulfillment of their obligations as citizens, among which are the payment of taxes and transparency when running a business.As expected, if people perceive that their officials They are not working in a responsible manner, they get angry and demand the relevant respect.

With regard to the role of the public sector, it is important to make clear that is a variable factor , as well as its volume, since both are adapted to the current needs of each era, of according to the issues that should be considered of interest public.These points that concern the public must be defined with a certain advance.

Although the characteristics of the State depend on each country , it is usual for the public sector to represent a large percentage of the national economy: it makes million-dollar investments, employs thousands of people, etc.It also usually influences global economic activity.

A situation that serves to demonstrate this relationship between the public sector and the economic situation may be the limitation of the salary increase of public officials with the aim of stopping the progress of inflation .Given that the three powers of the State (judicial, legislative and executive) are an essential part of the public sector, it goes without saying that it must serve and protect all the inhabitants of its country.

It is important to emphasize that the public companies that provide various essential services for the society are also part of the public sector.This is the case of the electricity, gas, water and telephone companies that belong to the State.

Broadly speaking, we can distinguish between public sector institutions that are in the so-called national level , which are centrally managed and act throughout the territory of a country, and those in the territorial level (also called regional ), which are located in a locality, city, municipality, department or province.

In the first group (the national level) is the executive branch, in charge of the President, Prime Minister or Head of State, and its role affects the entire nation as it must carry out the administrative policies and ensure that all agencies fulfill their obligations .On the territorial level, on the other hand, there are mayors and governors, who are responsible for exercising the power of the area that has been assigned within the country.

Those entities that are not included in the public sector belong to the private sector .There is also talk of joint ventures when a company owns the State and people or private firms.