Comparative Analysis of Recent Trends in Private Sector Development in CEE Transition Economies

Abstract

We investigate developments in private sector activity as proxied by business ownership (BO) rates in four Central and East European (CEE) transition economies (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic) and compare them with similar developments in other OECD countries in the period 1989-2008. Our analysis reveals that BO rates in the four CEE countries have been converging rapidly towards the levels of other OECD countries, and these CEE countries were able to rebuild their private sectors in a relatively short period of transition. We also find sizable differences among the four CEE countries under study in the level and dynamics of change of BO since 1989.

The Development of Entrepreneurship in the European Transition Countries: Is Transition Complete?

“…After more than ten years of transition, Grilo and Thurik ( ) found no difference between transition and non‐transition EU countries in terms of the impact of perceived institutional barriers. Examining the long‐term changes in business ownership rates, similar convergence has been noticed by Cieslik and van Stel ( ). However, Aidis ( ) reports increasing divergence.…”

Corruption Perceptions and Entrepreneurial Intentions in a Transitional Context–the Case of Rural Bulgaria

“…Differences in institutional arrangements and in the level of economic development yield different rates and types of entrepreneurial activity (Stenholm et al, 2013;Wennekers et al, 2010). In the context of interest to our study, some post-socialist economies exceed the entrepreneurship rate of developed countries (Cieślik and van Stel, 2014). In the case of Bulgaria, national statistics indicate an entrepreneurship rate of 11.3 percent in 2008, the year closest to our study (NSI, 2009).…”

Development of Entrepreneurial Activity in the Czech Republic over the Years 2005–2017

“…As the assumption of the positive impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth is based mainly on findings from developed countries, it is crucial to explore entrepreneurship in other countries that have not been studied before, as recommended by Davidsson [26,27], and to see whether the traditional patterns described in entrepreneurship literature are valid or not. Such an example might be countries of the former Soviet Union that experienced the process of economic transition during the early 1990s [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] Cieślik and Van Stel [33] further explain that the former soviet socialist regime might have influenced current behaviour of economic agents (employees, entrepreneurs) in the society, and thus there might be different patterns of economic (and entrepreneurial) behaviour compared to those observed in developed countries.…”