We provide the first comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of government-led reorganization programs for financially distressed firms in transition economies. The study is based on empirical evidence on the programs in Albania, Arinenia, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Romania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz...

We provide comprehensive analysis of the isolation program for financially distressed firms in Romania. The results indicate that the isolation program did not deliver any tangible improvements in operational performance, nor did it enhance the process of privatization or liquidation of large...

This paper examines case study evidence of large Slovak firms chosen to represent a wide range of initial conditions, privatization techniques and success with restructuring. We document the ownership changes and restructuring actions of firms. We then re-examine several hypotheses about firm...

The relationship between ownership structure and corporate performance has been the subject of intense research in both transition and market economies. The Czech Republic's mass-privatization program provides an unique opportunity to investigate this relationship. It changed the ownership of...

We document the operational performance of (former and current) state enterprises over the 1992-1995 period for seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) using large samples of firm level data and a consistent...

We study the effect of changes in management and the use of equity incentives on firm performance and market valuation using a cross-section of 706 Czech firms over the 1993-97 period. As these firms have exogenously determined ownership structures, we avoid the simultaneity problem often...

This paper uses nationally representative survey data from Mexico to compare households with savings accounts in formal financial institutions to their neighbors who do not have such accounts. The survey, which was conducted in 2005, contains information on nearly 5,000 households. The findings...

June 2000 - This study of trade flows among and between nine Russian regions and 14 republics of the former Soviet Union shows a bias toward domestic trade in the reform period that is primarily the result of tariffs. In addition, old linkages - such as infrastructure, business networks, and...

Public procurement regulation is an important instrument for using public resources efficiently and ensuring quality services to citizens. On average, the public procurement sector accounts for 14.5 percent of the gross domestic product globally. Using new data, this study documents public...

The paper is based on a scenario workshop held on January 20, 2009, where leading financial and private sector development experts from IFC, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank discussed the unfolding crisis. This paper is a product of the staff of the Financial and Private...