IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hig/wpaper/60-fe-2017.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Political Influence, Firm Performance and Survival

Author

Listed:
  • Vladimir Sokolov

    (National Research University Higher School of Economics)

  • Laura Solanko

    (Bank of Finland)

Abstract

We examine how regional-level political influence affects firm financial performance and survival. Combining representative survey data on mid-sized manufacturing firms in Russia with official registry data, we find that politically influential firms exhibit higher profitability and retain larger financial investments than non-influential firms. Most importantly, our empirical analysis suggests that the benefits of influence may be transient. Influential firms experienced significantly lower growth during our sample period than non-influential firms. Moreover, influential firms had a significantly higher probability of being liquidated than non-influential firms and the likelihood of the subsequent plant utilization by a new firm was higher for the politically influential liquidated firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Vladimir Sokolov & Laura Solanko, 2017. "Political Influence, Firm Performance and Survival," HSE Working papers WP BRP 60/FE/2017, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hig:wpaper:60/fe/2017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://wp.hse.ru/data/2017/07/11/1170894796/60FE2017.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tuuli Juurikkala & Olga Lazareva, 2006. "Non-wage benefits, costs of turnover, and labor attachment: evidence from Russian firms," Working Papers w0062, New Economic School (NES).
    2. Frye, Timothy & Shleifer, Andrei, 1997. "The Invisible Hand and the Grabbing Hand," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(2), pages 354-358, May.
    3. Lambert-Mogiliansky, Ariane & Sonin, Konstantin & Zhuravskaya, Ekaterina, 2007. "Are Russian commercial courts biased? Evidence from a bankruptcy law transplant," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 254-277, June.
    4. Andrei Govorun & Israel Marques & William Pyle, 2013. "The political roots of intermediated lobbying: evidence from Russian firms and business associations," HSE Working papers WP BRP 46/EC/2013, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    5. Maxim Mironov & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2016. "Corruption in Procurement and the Political Cycle in Tunneling: Evidence from Financial Transactions Data," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(2), pages 287-321, May.
    6. Berglof, Erik & Lehmann, Alexander, 2009. "Sustaining Russia's growth: The role of financial reform," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 198-206, June.
    7. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    8. Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2010. "Federalism in Russia," Post-Print halshs-00754793, HAL.
    9. Shai Bernstein & Emanuele Colonnelli & Benjamin Iverson, 2019. "Asset Allocation in Bankruptcy," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(1), pages 5-53, February.
    10. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    11. Amore, Mario Daniele & Bennedsen, Morten, 2013. "The value of local political connections in a low-corruption environment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 387-402.
    12. Quoc-Anh Do & Yen-Teik Lee & Bang Dang Nguyen, 2013. "Political Connections and Firm Value: Evidence from the Regression Discontinuity Design of Close Gubernatorial Elections," Working Papers hal-03460972, HAL.
    13. repec:zbw:bofitp:2003_016 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Jiang, Guohua & Lee, Charles M.C. & Yue, Heng, 2010. "Tunneling through intercorporate loans: The China experience," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-20, October.
    15. Randolph Luca Bruno & Maria Bytchkova & Saul Estrin, 2013. "Institutional Determinants of New Firm Entry in Russia: A Cross-Regional Analysis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1740-1749, December.
    16. Guriev, Sergei & Yakovlev, Evgeny & Zhuravskaya, Ekaterina, 2010. "Interest group politics in a federation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(9-10), pages 730-748, October.
    17. Anders Aslund & Sergie Guriev & Andrew Kuchins (ed.), 2010. "Russia after the Global Economic Crisis," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 4976, January.
    18. Irina Slinko & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya & Evgeny Yakovlev, 2005. "Laws for Sale: Evidence from Russia," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 7(1), pages 284-318.
    19. Cull, Robert & Li, Wei & Sun, Bo & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2015. "Government connections and financial constraints: Evidence from a large representative sample of Chinese firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 271-294.
    20. Davydova, Yulia & Sokolov, Vladimir, 2014. "The real effects of financial constraints: Evidence from a debt subsidization program targeted at strategic firms," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 247-265.
    21. Pertti Haaparanta & Tuuli Juurikkala & Olga Lazareva & Jukka Pirttila & Laura Solanko & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2003. "Firms And Public Service Provision In Russia," Working Papers w0041, New Economic School (NES).
    22. Joel C. Moses, 2014. "The Political Resurrection of Russian Governors," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 66(9), pages 1395-1424, October.
    23. Lorenzo Caprio & Mara Faccio & John J. McConnell, 2013. "Sheltering Corporate Assets from Political Extraction," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(2), pages 332-354, April.
    24. Eitan Goldman & Jörg Rocholl & Jongil So, 2013. "Politically Connected Boards of Directors and The Allocation of Procurement Contracts," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 17(5), pages 1617-1648.
    25. Sonin, Konstantin, 2010. "Provincial protectionism," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 111-122, June.
    26. Chen, Deqiu & Li, Sifei & Xiao, Jason Zezhong & Zou, Hong, 2014. "The effect of government quality on corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 384-400.
    27. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wei, K.C. John & Xu, Xinzhong, 2011. "Corporate finance and governance in emerging markets: A selective review and an agenda for future research," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 207-214, April.
    28. Yi Lu, 2011. "Political connections and trade expansion," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 19(2), pages 231-254, April.
    29. Migara O. De Silva & Galina Kurlyandskaya & Elena Andreeva & Natalia Golovanova, 2009. "Intergovernmental Reforms in the Russian Federation : One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2668.
    30. Iwasaki, Ichiro, 2014. "Global financial crisis, corporate governance, and firm survival:," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 178-211.
    31. Yeh, Yin-Hua & Shu, Pei-Gi & Chiu, Shean-Bii, 2013. "Political connections, corporate governance and preferential bank loans," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1079-1101.
    32. Boubakri, Narjess & Guedhami, Omrane & Mishra, Dev & Saffar, Walid, 2012. "Political connections and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 541-559.
    33. Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025.
    34. MARA FACCIO & RONALD W. MASULIS & JOHN J. McCONNELL, 2006. "Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2597-2635, December.
    35. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n0dcia0po is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Pramuan Bunkanwanicha & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2009. "Big Business Owners in Politics," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2133-2168, June.
    37. Ma, Liangbo & Ma, Shiguang & Tian, Gary, 2013. "Political connections, founder-managers, and their impact on tunneling in China's listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 312-339.
    38. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7o52iohb7k6srk09n0dcia0po is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Chernykh, Lucy, 2008. "Ultimate ownership and control in Russia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 169-192, April.
    40. William Pyle & Laura Solanko, 2013. "The composition and interests of Russia’s business lobbies: testing Olson’s hypothesis of the “encompassing organization”," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 19-41, April.
    41. Andrei Yakovlev, 2006. "The evolution of business – state interaction in Russia: From state capture to business capture?," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(7), pages 1033-1056.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sokolov, Vladimir & Solanko, Laura, 2016. "Political influence, firm performance and survival," BOFIT Discussion Papers 20/2016, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    2. repec:zbw:bofitp:2016_020 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Sokolov, Vladimir & Solanko, Laura, 2016. "Political influence, firm performance and survival," BOFIT Discussion Papers 20/2016, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    4. Park, SeHyun, 2023. "Profitability of politically corrupt firms: Evidence from Romania," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Richard W. Carney & Travers Barclay Child, 2015. "Business Networks and Crisis Performance: Professional, Political, and Family Ties," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 15-135/V, Tinbergen Institute, revised 20 Feb 2015.
    6. He, Lerong & Wan, Hong & Zhou, Xin, 2014. "How are political connections valued in China? Evidence from market reaction to CEO succession," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 141-152.
    7. Thanh Ngo & Jurica Susnjara, 2020. "Government contracts and US bond yield spreads: A study on costs and benefits of materialized political connections," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 1059-1085, July.
    8. Xu, Nianhang & Chen, Qinyuan & Xu, Yan & Chan, Kam C., 2016. "Political uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 276-295.
    9. Wang, Yizhong & Yao, Chengxue & Kang, Di, 2019. "Political connections and firm performance: Evidence from government officials' site visits," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    10. Habib, Ahsan & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Jiang, Haiyan, 2017. "Political connections, related party transactions, and auditor choice: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19.
    11. Zhang, Huiming & Li, Lianshui & Zhou, Dequn & Zhou, Peng, 2014. "Political connections, government subsidies and firm financial performance: Evidence from renewable energy manufacturing in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 330-336.
    12. Rajwani, Tazeeb & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele, 2015. "Political activity and firm performance within nonmarket research: A review and international comparative assessment," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 273-283.
    13. 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.
    14. Zan Yang & Ying Fan & Song Shi & Jing Liao, 2018. "Political Connections and Corporate Borrowing: an Analysis on the Listed Real Estate Firms in China," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 315-350, October.
    15. Wong, Wai-Yan & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2018. "Do types of political connection affect firm performance differently?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 297-317.
    16. Brahma, Sanjukta & Zhang, Jing & Boateng, Agyenim & Nwafor, Chioma, 2023. "Political connection and M&A performance: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 372-389.
    17. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kozłowski, Łukasz & Mielcarz, Paweł, 2014. "Political connections and operational performance of non-financial firms: New evidence from Poland," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 109-135.
    18. Stephen Gray & Iman Harymawan & John Nowland, 2016. "Political and government connections on corporate boards in Australia: Good for business?," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 41(1), pages 3-26, February.
    19. Ding, Mingfa, 2014. "Political Connections and Stock Liquidity: Political Network, Hierarchy and Intervention," Knut Wicksell Working Paper Series 2014/7, Lund University, Knut Wicksell Centre for Financial Studies.
    20. Tang, Xuesong & Lin, Yan & Peng, Qing & Du, Jun & Chan, Kam C., 2016. "Politically connected directors and firm value: Evidence from forced resignations in China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 148-167.
    21. Michelson, Noam, 2023. "The revolving door of former civil servants and firm value: A comprehensive approach," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    political influence; firm performance; firm liquidation; government quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hig:wpaper:60/fe/2017. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Shamil Abdulaev or Shamil Abdulaev (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/hsecoru.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.