Privatizations and Labor Market Effects

The world is in the midst of the fourth privatization wave, with record dollar amounts raised globally. So far the academic literature has provided ample empirical evidence that privatizations tend to improve firm performance. But little is known on how workers fare privatizations. In this project, we will study how workers fare if they are employed in a state-owned enterprise that is being privatized. By focusing on workers’ unemployment risk as well as their labor earnings the project will shed new light on the individual welfare consequences of privatizations and try to understand who wins and who loses in privatizations.