ABSTRACT
The privatization process in many countries of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) is of an order unmatched by experience in any other part of the World. In Russia, about 122,000 enterprises were privatized between 1992 and 1996 (Goskomstat, 1996, quoted in Earle and Estrin, 1997). In Ukraine, privatization has been slower but by the end of March 1997, official figures showed that 50,547 enterprises had been privatized (State Property Fund, 1997). There is some doubt over the accuracy of these figures as they include companies where the State still holds a majority share. However, the scale of the ownership transformation is still unprecedented by Western standards. The privatization process in Ukraine is believed to have given majority employee ownership to many enterprises (Leshchenko and Revenko in this volume, Chapter 14). Therefore, Ukraine is suited for a study of the relationship between ownership and firm behaviour.
