PRIVATIZATION AND ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING IN POLAND - AN ASSESSMENT OFTRANSITION POLICIES

Poland was among the first of the Central European countries to attemp t to transform its economy from a centrally planned socialist system t o a market-oriented one, Although its International Monetary Fund-insp ired ''shock therapy'' approach sought to transform the economy quickl y, Poland's implementation of privatization of state enterprises, a ke ystone of the reform strategy, lags seriously behind other economic ch anges. Poland's experiments with privatization were derailed by econom ic, political, social and administrative problems. The lessons of expe rience from Poland's transitional period during the early 1990s are th at the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises and the spre ad of entrepreneurial activity were far more important than privatizat ion of state enterprises in moving Poland toward a market system.