In search of owners: Privatization and corporate governance in transition economies

Experiments in privatizing enterprises in transition economies abound, from extensive efforts at sales to strategic owners (as in Estonia and Hungary), to programs based primarily on insider buyouts (as in Russia and Slovenia), to innovative mass privatization programs involving the creation of large and powerful new financial intermediaries (as in the Czech and Slovak republics and Poland). Each approach has inherent strengths and risks. But if the objectives are to sever the links between the state and the enterprises, to school the population in market basics, and to foster further ownership change, the initial weight of evidence seems to favor significant reliance on voucher privatization, especially given the difficulty most countries have finding willing cash investors.