ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the effects of the various political and economic changes of the post Soviet period on the living standards of the rural population in Ukraine. Household incomes were acquired by adding together incomes from all sources for all family members. Per capita incomes were calculated by dividing this total household income by the number of persons normally resident in the household. The most critical of the effects of being cash-poor is the inability to pay for medicine or for medical treatment. Enterprise directors do not reduce their workforce, however, except occasionally where a worker can be proven to have repeatedly committed a sackable offence. An important aspect of change in livelihoods in the transitional period has been increased reliance on both food and cash incomes from household plots. The combination of official and unofficial harassment of all businesses effectively impedes the development of new employment.
