This paper compares the performance of privatized and state firms in the transition economies of Central Europe, while controlling for various forms of selection bias. It argues that privatization has different effects depending on the types of owners to whom it gives control. In particular,...

The studies in this two-volume work shed new light on the range and viability of the emerging corporate governance institutions in the transitional economies of Central Europe. Regional specialists and experts on corporate governance in advanced economies examine the emerging forms of ownership...

Poland's 1993 Enterprise and Bank Restructuring Programme (EBRP) tried to force state-owned commercial banks to build institutional capacity and resolve their problem loans. The outcome of its innovative bank-led workout ('conciliation') process, documented in this study of 62 firms, is...

Poland's 1993 Enterprise and Bank Restructuring Programme (EBRP) provided for the resolution of problem loans through bank-led or court-led workouts, liquidation, or loan sales. This paper examines the workings of three traditional exit processes - court-led conciliation, bankruptcy, and state...

One of the most remarkable developments in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been the region's opening to foreign direct investment. CEE states saw foreign investment climb from minuscule amounts in 1989 to more than $7 billion in 1992. All CEE states have enacted new laws on foreign...

As the economies of Central and Eastern Europe move from central planning and state ownership to market-driven development of private sector activity, they are undertaking comprehensive change in the"rules of the game", the legal framework for economic activity. The authors analyze the evolving...

Westeners often complain that laws are not enforced in developing countries."Good"laws are on the books, but in reality individuals and firms evade them with impunity. For example taxes are uncollected, bankruptcy laws unenforced, environmental controls ignored and trade restrictions evaded....

Of all taxes, income taxes are the most difficult to implement. Developing countries are usually able to generate large amounts of income tax revenue only from large corporations or foreign investments. They are rarely effective in taxing wealthy individuals or small or medium-size businesses....

Since 1992, Poland has been considered a model of commercial banking reform among transition economies. Its Enterprise and Bank Restructuring Program (EBRP) tried to force state-owned commercial banks to build institutional capacity and to resolve problem loans through workouts, liquidation,...