def echo(x):
    return x

def foo(s):
    d = {}
    exec(s, {}, d)
    return dict((x,y) for x,y in d.items())

def bar(s):
    d = {}
    exec(s, {}, d)
    return dict((x, echo(y)) for x,y in d.items()) # comment this to compile

s = 'a=1'
foo(s)