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The Incidence and Cost of Job Loss in a Transition Economy: Displaced Workers in Estonia, 1989-1999

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  • Jozef Konings
  • Olga Kupets
  • Hartmut Lehmann

Abstract

This paper documents and analyses gross job flows and their determinants in Ukraine using a unique data set of more than 2200 Ukrainian firms operating in both the manufacturing and the non-manufacturing sector for the years 1998-2000. There are several important findings in the paper. Job destruction is dominating job creation in both 1999 and 2000. In connection with other evidence we infer from this that Ukraine is only at the beginning of the restructuring process. The most clear-cut result of our analysis is the strong positive effect of new private firms on net employment growth, a finding established for other transition economies as well. At the same time, we do not find differences in the employment growth of state-owned and privatised firms. Apart from ownership effects we also find, at the firm level, an inverse correlation of size and net employment growth and of size and job reallocation. Finally, we establish that strong foreign trade links force firms to shed labour more aggressively and to engage in more restructuring when trade is directed to and originating from Western economies. This disciplining function is absent when the trade flows are confined to CIS countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Jozef Konings & Olga Kupets & Hartmut Lehmann, 2002. "The Incidence and Cost of Job Loss in a Transition Economy: Displaced Workers in Estonia, 1989-1999," CERT Discussion Papers 0210, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
  • Handle: RePEc:hwe:certdp:0210
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuhao Ge & Hartmut Lehmann, 2013. "The costs of worker displacement in urban labor markets of China," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Jaanika Meriküll & Pille Mõtsmees, 2017. "Do you get what you ask? The gender gap in desired and realised wages," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 38(6), pages 893-908, September.
    3. Ana Lamo & Julian Messina & Etienne Wasmer, 2006. "Are Specific Skills an Obstacle to Labor Market Adjustment? Theory and an Application to the EU Enlargement," Working Papers hal-03459097, HAL.
    4. Lehmann, Hartmut & Pignatti, Norberto & Wadsworth, Jonathan, 2006. "The incidence and cost of job loss in the Ukrainian labor market," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 248-271, June.
    5. Atanas Christev & Olga Kupets & Hartmut Lehmann, 2008. "Trade Liberalisation and Employment Effects in Ukraine," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 50(2), pages 318-340, June.
    6. Lehmann, Hartmut & Muravyev, Alexander & Razzolini, Tiziano & Zaiceva, Anzelika, 2010. "The Costs of Job Loss in Russia," IZA Discussion Papers 5415, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Kerly Krillo & Jaan Masso, 2010. "The Part-Time/Full-Time Wage Gap in Central and Eastern Europe: the Case of Estonia," Research in Economics and Business: Central and Eastern Europe, Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology, vol. 2(1).
    8. Simona Ferraro & Jaanika Meriküll & Karsten Staehr, 2018. "Minimum wages and the wage distribution in Estonia," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(49), pages 5253-5268, October.
    9. repec:bla:etrans:v:11:y:2003-06:i:2:p:291-320 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Hartmut Lehmann, 2014. "Worker displacement in transition economies and in China," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-20, May.
    11. Lehmann, Hartmut & Muravyev, Alexander & Razzolini, Tiziano & Zaiceva, Anzelika, 2013. "The wage and non-wage costs of displacement in boom times: Evidence from Russia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 1184-1201.
    12. Jaan Masso & Raul Eamets & Kaia Philips, 2004. "Job creation and job destruction in Estonia: labour reallocation and structural changes," UCL SSEES Economics and Business working paper series 39, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES).
    13. Bohacek, Radim & Myck, Michal, 2017. "Economic Consequences of Political Persecution," IZA Discussion Papers 11136, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. H. Lehmann & A. Muravyev & T. Razzolini & A. Zaiceva, 2011. "The Wage and Non-wage Costs of Displacement: Evidence from Russia," Working Papers wp734, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    15. Meriküll, Jaanika & Eamets, Raul & Humal, Katrin & Espenberg, Kerly, 2012. "Power without manpower: Forecasting labour demand for Estonian energy sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 740-750.
    16. Appelqvist, Jukka, 2007. "Wage and Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers in Finland," Discussion Papers 422, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    17. Kosovka Ognjenovic & Aleksandra Brankovic, 2012. "Job Creation and Emplozment in a Time of Crisis," Book Chapters, in: João Sousa Andrade & Marta C. N. Simões & Ivan Stosic & Dejan Eric & Hasan Hanic (ed.), Managing Structural Changes - Trends and Requirements, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 20, pages 375-396, Institute of Economic Sciences.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job creation; job destruction; Ukraine; private firms; trade;
    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
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • P23 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Factor and Product Markets; Industry Studies; Population

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