In this, the first of three volumes to be published by the CEU Press on corporate governance in Central Europe and Russia, distinguished economists, legal scholars, political scientists and sociologists examine the emerging institutions of corporate governance in privatized firms in transition economies. They investigate the role of banks, investment funds, and pension funds, as well as the role and impact of residual state ownership. Each paper combines experience from advanced market economies with in-country empirical work in transition settings. Together these papers represent the most comprehensive and up-to-date comparative analysis yet undertaken of privatization struggles and their impact on corporate governance in Central Europe and Russia.

In this, the second of three volumes to be published by the CEU Press on corporate governance in Central Europe and Russia, distinguished economists, legal scholars, political scientists and sociologists examine the emerging institutions of corporate governance in privatized firms in transition economies. They look at the nature of control exercised by insiders in Central and Eastern European firms and the emergence of indigenous corporate governance institutions. The volume also addresses the role of foreign investors and the many issues involved in the design of corporate and securities law. Each paper combines experience from advanced market economies with in-country empirical work in transition settings. Together these papers represent the most comprehensive and up-to-date comparative analysis yet undertaken of privatization struggles and their impact on corporate governance in Central Europe and Russia.

In Eastern Europe privatization is now a mass phenomenon. The authors propose a model of it by means of an illustration from the example of Poland, which envisages the free provision of shares in formerly public undertakings to employees and consumers, and the provision of corporate finance from foreign intermediaries. One danger that emerges is that of bureaucratization. On the broader canvas, mass privatization implies the reform of the whole system, the creation of a suitable economic infrastructure for a market economy and the institutions of corporate governance. The authors point out the need for a delicate balance between evolution - which may be too slow - and design - which brings the risk of more government involvement than it is able to manage. A chapter originating as a European Bank working paper explores the banking implications of setting up a totally new financial sector with interlocking classes of assets. The economic effects merge into politics as the role of the state is investigated. Teachers and graduate students of public/private sector economies, East European affairs; advisers to bankers or commercial companies with Eastern European interests.

This Third Volume in the acclaimed series of CEU Privatization Reports deals with the transition to a free market in retail trade and consumer services in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The authors describe and analyze all the programs with the help of which shops, restaurants, and service establishments have been privatized in the three most advanced postcommunist countries and provide detailed quantitative evidence concerning all aspects of the small privatization process. The volume also presents the results of the first extensive empirical survey of privatized establishments in the three countries and draws important conclusions concerning the conditions necessary for a successful privatization of the retail trade and consumer service sectors in Eastern Europe. The authors argue that small privatization is, above all, a transfer of ownership to commercial real estate and that the nature of the rights conveyed to the new owners makes a great difference with respect to postprivatization restructuring. They also show that the presence of outside owners, not connected with predecessor state establishments, is one of the most important factors determining the extent of changes brought about by small privatization.