Measuring the Impact of Russian Privatisation at the Turn of the Century: An Introduction to the Symposium
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Measuring the Impact of Russian Privatisation at the Turn of the Century: An Introduction to the Symposium SAUL ESTRIN Centre for New and Emerging Markets, London Business School, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4SA, UK. E-mail: [email protected] In this paper, we introduce our survey of 437 Russian industrial enterprises, 1997-1999. We gathered data on enterprise performance, both qualitative and quantitative, and four determining features of the Russian industrial environment – ownership structure (state, insider, outsider); competition (domestic and international); governance (ownership versus control); and financial constraints. The Special Issue contains papers explaining the relationship between each of these factors and enterprise performance. In the final paper, we consider the effects jointly, and their interactions. Survey methodology is outlined in the Appendix. Comparative Economic Studies (2003) 45, 109–116. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100011
Keywords: privatisation, Russia, firm performance JEL Classifications: O12, P31, L10
INTRODUCTION Just as the literature on communist economics focused disproportionately on the Soviet Union (see eg Gregory and Stuart, 1986), Ellman, 1989), so research on the transition economies has placed emphasis on the way that the reform process has unfolded in Russia (see World Bank, 1996). This is probably because of the geo-political significance of the Russian Federation, including its size, military capacity and resource endowment, as well as its political leadership across the region. However, transition in Russia has always been viewed as being likely to prove more difficult than in the small, relatively more open and reform-minded economies like Hungary or Poland (see Blanchard et al., 1991; Portes, 1993). The huge scale and long communist traditions of Russia made the obstacles to reform seem almost insurmountable: a view apparently confirmed when the reform process appeared to
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founder at the time of 1998 financial crisis (see EBRD, 1999). The economic outlook for Russia is currently perceived in a more positive way (see Hanson, 2002), in no small part because of the relatively high oil price and its positive impact on economic growth and the government’s fiscal position. However, even the most recent analyses suggest that country still has some way to go to eradicate profound problems with corporate governance, as well as with broader institutional development (see EBRD, 2002). An evaluation of progress in these areas at the enterprise level is the subject of this Special Issue.1 We use evidence from a survey of privatised Russian enterprises to chart progress in corporate governance, the business environment and company performance from the time of privatisation until 2000. Reforms in Russia since 1992 have centred upon the privatisation process (see Boycko et al., 1995), which transferred ownership in tens of thousands of companies across the country (see Earle and Estrin, 1997). Initial evidence about the impa
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