The paper argues that networked firms are likely to have an advantage in securing external finance in countries with weak legal and judicial institutions since it helps financial institutions to minimize the underlying agency costs of lending. An analysis of recent BEEPS data from fifteen...

The paper argues that the networked firms have an advantage in securing bank finance in countries with weak legal and judicial institutions. An analysis of recent BEEPS data from sixteen CEE transition countries lends some support to this hypothesis. Firms affiliated to business associations are...

This paper examines the causes of the large buildup of enterprise arrears in Russia during 1992, and evaluates policy options to deal with them. Noting the experience of Eastern European countries, the paper emphasizes that the settlement of arrears through wholesale extension of credit would...

Ten years into the transition, newly emerging private enterprises in transition economies, usually described as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the international context, have come to play an increasingly important role as the driving engines of economic growth and employment...