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BELARUSIANS AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISE

The survey findings show that over the last three years there have been no changes on the front of private enterprise. As we see from Table 1, a little more than half of adult Belarusians have never taken part and are not going to take part in private enterprise. A little less than half of Belarusians – have take part in private enterprise or would like to (the number of those who want to take part in private enterprise is 2.5fold higher than the number of those who are involved in private business). Thus, over the last three years the number of supporters and opponents of private enterprise has been equal. Five years ago there were two opponents against one supporter of private enterprise.
Table 1. Participation in private enterprise, %

At the same time, over the last three years the conditions for private business in our country, in the opinion of the respondents, have deteriorated, although as we see from Table 2, the number of those who believe the conditions have improved is almost twofold higher (it rose from 4.8% to 10.4%). However, much more respondents think in the opposite. For example, 38.5% believe that legislative regulation of private enterprise has become stricter, and 26.9% think arbitrariness of state bodies has intensified. Also the survey revealed a drop in consumer power of the population (33.8%), a strengthening competition (24.4% – a 3fold rise), a fall in honesty of business partners (8.5%). Thus, in general the respondents are more likely to believe the conditions for private enterprise have worsened.

Table 2. Change of the condition for private enterprise in Belarus over the last three years, % (more than one answer is possible)

Nonetheless, as we see from Table 3, there is a rise in the number of those who want his children to be involved in private business, as well as the number of who do not want it. Although the former group is 1.25fold bigger than the latter, over the last two years the former group has been growing more slowly than the latter one.

Table 3. Dynamics of distribution of answers to the question: “Would you like your children to be involved in private enterprise?”, %

Table 4 demonstrates that over the last three years more than half of voters have considered the private form of ownership more efficient than the state ownership. If we consider that during the give period about one third of the electorate has been certain of the contrary, a growth in the number of supporters of the private form of ownership has taken place due to the “undecided” and as a result their group has been reduced almost to zero.

Table 4. The most efficient form of ownership, %


Table 5. The most attracting type of job, %

 

The number of those who would like to work for a private company has been growing over the last three years (See Table 5). Today their number exceeds the number of those who prefer the state sector by 6 points. Shortly we can expect the number of those who prefer to work in the private sector to encompass more than half of the adult population of the country.