ABSTRACT
Rapid privatization and restructuring of the vast state-owned assets of post-communist economies is key to every East-Central European government’s program for systemic economic reform. The countries of this region—in particular, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech and Slovak Republics—have achieved far more privatization, and more quickly, than anything seen so far in either the developing countries or OECD member countries. It is also true that, with the possible exception of the Russian Federation, the East-Central European countries have been the leaders in privatization from among the post-communist economies of the old Soviet bloc; indeed, the experimental privatization and restructuring methods developed there serve as models to all of those countries.
65In this paper the authors review and analyze the East-Central European privatization experience. The first section highlights the objectives of privatization in post-communist economies, die principal privatization strategies that have been pursued, the constraints to their implementation, and the results achieved. The benefits and drawbacks of each strategy are assessed in an effort to come to grips with the “quality,” speed, and comprehensiveness of privatization achieved under each. The second section examines the linkages between privatization and enterprise restructuring, addressing issues related to the institutional framework of the latter, including bankruptcy and the development of secondary markets for debt and equity. Conclusions are drawn in the final section.
