ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the experiences of three firms in light industry. Generally speaking, FSOEs in light industry have been the hardest hit in the transition. Light industry firms pay the lowest wages and only with substantial delays, and declines in output and employment exceed those of other branches. Foreign competition from developing countries is intense and managerial skills in marketing, finance, and accounting lag behind those in other branches. Whereas a handful of firms in machinery appear to have weathered the worst of the transition, signs of incipient recovery among FSOEs in light industry are rare.
