We test under what circumstances boards discipline managers and whether such interventions improve performance. We exploit exogenous variation due to the staggered adoption of corporate governance laws in formerly communist countries coupled with detailed “hard” information about the...

To understand the transformation of banking in the post-communist transition, this paper examines the cost efficiency of 289 banks in 15 east European countries. The findings showed that banking systems in which foreign-owned banks have a larger share of total assets record lower costs and that...

This paper provides an overview and discusses key findings of the 2002 Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS), implemented jointly by the EBRD and the World Bank. (The first round of the BEEPS was implemented in 1999.) Four important conclusions arise from the analysis....

Entrepreneurial activity is a key contributor to economic growth, innovation and the development of a market economy in transition countries. Data from the Life in Transition Survey reveal that financial sector development and access to credit are the most important drivers of entrepreneurship....

We have conducted the first survey on management practices in transition countries. We found that Central Asian transition countries, such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, have on average very poor management practices. Their average scores are below emerging countries such as Brazil, China and...

This paper examines the pattern and magnitude of China’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) to the EBRD’s countries of operations. We first analyse the recent trends of China’s outward FDI, with sectoral and geographical distributions, and assess the implications for the transition...

This paper reviews private sector participation (PSP) in urban transport services in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It documents how the private sector is stepping in to address gaps caused by failing public services in poorer countries and identifies a...

This paper is dedicated to the relationship between market development and democracy. We distinguish between contexts and preferences and ask whether it is true that the demand for democracy only emerges after a certain degree of market development is reached, and whether, conversely,...

This paper examines the main policy and structural determinants of the intensity of competition at the enterprise level across transition economies, presenting new evidence based on an enterprise-level survey and a legal survey directed to both competition agencies and legal experts in the area...