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Impact of privatization on employment and earnings

Author

Listed:
  • John S. Earle

    (George Mason University, USA, and IZA, Germany)

  • Solomiya Shpak

    (George Mason University, USA)

Abstract

Conventional wisdom and prevailing economic theory hold that the new owners of a privatized firm will cut jobs and wages. But this ignores the possibility that new owners will expand the firm’s scale, with potentially positive effects on employment, wages, and productivity. Evidence generally shows these forces to be offsetting, usually resulting in small employment and earnings effects and sometimes in large, positive effects on productivity and scale. Foreign ownership usually has positive effects, and the effects of domestic privatization tend to be larger in countries with a more competitive business environment.

Suggested Citation

  • John S. Earle & Solomiya Shpak, 2019. "Impact of privatization on employment and earnings," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-93, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:2019:n:93
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    privatization; employment; wages; earnings; productivity; output;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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