In spite of difficulties, most transition economies in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and Eastern Europe now have private sectors whose relative size is comparable to the private sectors in Western European countries. The transition countries have had very different objectives, but most started privatisation more or less with the same policy, based on the experience of the United Kingdom, although this was soon to change. While most of the Eastern European countries were fast to adopt modern standards and regulations, some FSU countries have lagged behind. Along with a wide range of gains for producers and consumers, there have been drawbacks, such as social polarisation and forms of capture (of business, of the state). Unlike most analysis of transition, which considers major components, this paper looks at the microeconomics of transition, since this involves the creation of markets through the process of privatisation. In general, transition economies have to develop new institutions and polices to support the privatisation and restructuring. In addition to these, they require regulation, which has been under-developed and causes other, different problems, related to the development of new models. Therefore, the need for a new, third phase of transformation is highlighted. New initiatives on labour, capital and regulation issues become vital now in transition economies.