The basic economic challenge in the transition from socialism to capitalism is creating incentive structures and institutions that promote enterprise change and restructuring. This is the motivation for most of the reforms debated during the transition - whether privatization, demonopolization,...

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,...

The author reviews the goals of privatization and evaluates various methods used to achieve them in different transition settings. The task is not only to change ownership but to create corporate governance and to further the development of legal norms and supporting institutions needed in...

Hungary is in the midst of a fundamental transformation toward a market economy. Although it was formerly in the forefront of efforts to reform socialism, after 1989 the goals of reform changed from market socialism to capitalism, as the old communist regime lost power and the idea of widespread...

Poland's Enterprise and Bank Restructuring Program, adopted by Parliament in 1993, provided for the resolution of problem loans through workouts, liquidation, or loan sales. In this report, the authors examine how formal"exit"processes (the movement of labor and assets out of one organization...

Bulgaria is in the midst of a historic transformation from a planned to a market economy. The Bulgarian government is working steadily to create a legal framework in which the private sector can develop. The authors describe the current legal framework in Bulgaria in the areas of constitutional,...