Book Description

April 1997 Large industrial firms in Slovakia have restructured more rapidly than expected, including firms regarded as nonviable only a few years ago. Rapid privatization is an important determinant of successful restructuring. The method of privatization and the type of owner appear to play only a minor role. Evaluating the restructuring of large enterprises in transition economies is difficult because it is only one of many economic changes. Such evaluation is nevertheless essential for designing reform policies. Djankov and Pohl examine 21 case studies of Slovak firms based on detailed financial information for 1991-96, and interviews with top management. Much of their sample was firms initially classified as nonviable lossmakers. They found that the majority of large Slovak firms successfully restructured without the help of foreign investors or government restructuring programs. Privatization to insiders, through management-employee buyouts, did not hamper restructuring because the new owners (old managers) invested heavily in new technology, laid off a substantial part of the workforce, sought foreign partnerships, and were prepared to sell controlling stakes to outsiders in return for fresh financial resources. The evidence also suggests that mass privatization did not result in weak corporate governance because it was followed by a rapid consolidation of ownership. Their findings support the view that the main objective of privatization programs should be the speedy transformation of ownership, not the selection of perfect owners. Slovakia was an interesting choice for case-study analysis because much of the heavy industry and arms industry of former Czechoslovakia was located in Slovakia, so it inherited a relatively unattractive industrial structure. Slovakia also implemented two very different privatization programs, one of mass privatization and one of leveraged management buyouts or direct sales to (domestic) outside investors. This paper - a product of the Finance and Private Sector Development Division, Europe and Central Asia Technical Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to study the determinants of enterprise restructuring in transition economies.