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

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.