A quasi-corporation is[1] an entity that exercises some of the functions of a corporation, but has not been granted separate legal personality by statute.[2] For example, a public corporation with limited authority and powers such as a county or school district is a quasi-corporation.
Definition
A quasi-corporation is an entity that is not incorporated or otherwise legally established, but which functions as if it were a corporation.[3]
United States
Federal government
When created by the federal government of the United States, these entities are commonly called quasi-public corporations. These now or in the past have included telegraph and telephone companies, oil and gas, water, and electrical power companies, and irrigation companies.[4] Some examples of quasi-public corporations in the US are Sallie Mae, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation), the Communications Satellite Corporation (“COMSAT”), and the US Postal Service.[5]
State and local government
References
- OECD Glossary of Statistical Terms - Quasi-corporations Definition stats.oecd.org, retrieved May 18, 2020^
- Quasi-corporation Wex, Cornell Law School, retrieved 16 October 2021^
- Ian Lienart. Where Does the Public Sector End and the Private Sector Begin? IMF Working Paper No. 09/122, 8 June 2008^