Reductions in government spending discussed above have led to the downsizing of public sectors and the privatization of public services and enterprises. This has reduced the relative contribution of government institutions and agencies to formal employment: during the 1990s, government employment either declined faster or grew more slowly than private employment in most countries.39 The reduction in the share of public sector employment has been particularly noticeable in the transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. As Chapter 2 has shown, public employment is an important source of good quality jobs for women and this downsizing is likely to disproportionately impact on women's employment outcomes.