Since its inception in 1991 in the wake of the collapse
of communism in eastern Europe, the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been
committed to developing open and sustainable market
economies. The Bank has been heavily involved in areas
such as banking-sector reform, price liberalisation,
privatisation of state-owned companies and the creation of
proper legal frameworks – all of which are vital ingredients
for structural change.
To continue its work in furthering progress towards
‘market-oriented economies and the promotion of
private and entrepreneurial initiative’, the Bank needs
to understand how transition is affecting the daily lives
of people in the region and how it shapes their views on
issues such as democracy and the market economy, as well
as their satisfaction with life and their hopes for the future.
In order to answer some of these questions, the
EBRD has carried out a major survey of households and
individuals across the region – the Life in Transition Survey.
This publication summarises the main results of the
most recent round of the survey, conducted in 2016, and
compares it with the previous rounds conducted in 2006
and 2010, in order to share these results with our partners
in the region and beyond.