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Do Political Connections Matter? Firm-Level Evidence from Latvia

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  • Vyacheslav Dombrovsky

    (Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS) and Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga))

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of political connections on firm performance. It draws on the universe of all registered firms in Latvia to construct a unique dataset of firms connected to politicians in 1996 to 2005. This paper shows that the effects of connections to politicians vary depending on the type of connection. Using fixed effects framework, it finds that firms that acquire politicians as their shareholders or board members experience a drop in the sales by 40%, followed by an increase in sales by 75% in the following year. This finding suggests that politicians join the firms in distress and help with political favors. However, this paper finds no effect from changes in the strength of political connections caused by changes in the ruling coalition. It also finds that connection with ex-politicians has no effect on firm performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Vyacheslav Dombrovsky, 2008. "Do Political Connections Matter? Firm-Level Evidence from Latvia," SSE Riga/BICEPS Research Papers 3, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS);Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga).
    • Handle: RePEc:bic:rpaper:3
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    Cited by:

    1. Md. Abdul Kaium Masud & Seong Mi Bae & Javier Manzanares & Jong Dae Kim, 2019. "Board Directors’ Expertise and Corporate Corruption Disclosure: The Moderating Role of Political Connections," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-22, August.
    2. Miroslav Palanský, 2021. "The value of political connections in the post-transition period: evidence from Czechia," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 121-154, July.
    3. Chakeel PRAYAGSING & Kheswar JANKEE, 2018. "Political connection and allocation of capital in the corporate sector in Mauritius. A game approach (theoretical relationship)," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(Special), pages 197-208.
    4. Chakeel PRAYAGSING & Kheswar JANKEE, 2018. "A direct measurement of corporate financial constraints of SMEs and large firms in Mauritius. A firm level survey analysis," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(Special), pages 175-196.
    5. Domadenik, Polona & Prašnikar, Janez & Svejnar, Jan, 2014. "Legal Corruption, Politically Connected Corporate Governance and Firm Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 8321, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Abubakr Saeed & Yacine Belghitar & Ephraim Clark, 2017. "Political connections and firm operational efficiencies: evidence from a developing country," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 191-224, January.
    7. Polona Domadenik & Janez Prašnikar & Jan Svejnar, 2016. "Political Connectedness, Corporate Governance, and Firm Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 411-428, December.

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