This paper examines the different strategies adopted by individuals in
transition economies to cope with labour market restructuring. Using micro-data from
seven countries at different stages of transition, we focus on “active” coping strategies,
in particular mobility and entrepreneurship. Our results show that there is significant
mobility across labour market states in most countries, but little inflow into
entrepreneurship from unemployment or inactivity. Entrepreneurship is a high-reward
strategy and is more significant in the advanced transition countries of central Europe,
where entrepreneurs tend to be male, middle-aged, and more educated than other
members of the labour force. However, in the CIS, there is little difference in the
demographic profile of entrepreneurs compared to the rest of the labour force