ABSTRACT
All the businesses in the study of the young self-employed had been created since 1988. Their new-ness was in fact their most distinctive and definitive characteristic. The young people who were interviewed, the creators of these businesses, were genuine pioneers, real entrepreneurs. Most of the young people's businesses were 'fiddling' in some way or another but none of the young people who we interviewed could be described as mafiosi. The business people were from a variety of backgrounds – virtually all sections of the local populations, though not exactly pro-rata. East-Central Europe's new business classes are probably more sensitive than any other sections of the populations to the disadvantages, and are the most anxious to drive out corruption from business affairs. All the entrepreneurs were determined to keep their liabilities to a reasonable level, if possible. A common tactic was to under-report any employees' earnings, sometimes to the lowest level that was legally permitted.
