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Politicians and firms in seven central and eastern European countries

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Author Info
Claessens, Stijn
Djankov, Simeon

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Abstract

The authors test several propositions derived by Shleifer and Vishny (1994, 1996) about how privatization and stabilization (hard budget constraints) affect enterprise behavior. They document the changes in financing, employment, and operating efficiency that have occurred in more than 6300 manufacturing enterprises in seven Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia). They then compare the relative performance of privatized and state-owned enterprises. Controlling for institutional differences and the endogeneity of privatization choices, they find that privatization is associated with significant improvements in total factor productivity and reductions in employment. Reductions in soft financing are associated with further productivity gains. State-owned enterprises employ more workers, have lower productivity, receive more financing and direct subsidies, and have higher variable costs than privatized firms, particularly firms privatized for more than three years. Privatized firms also consistently outperform state enterprises in productivity growth. Over time, the role of politicians in allocating bank financing and subsidies appears to have declined, however, and banks have played a greater role in (efficiently) allocating resources. And the institutional environment appears to have improved in most countries, suggesting that the influence of corruption has declined over time. The results--which provide significant support for the Shleifer-Vishny model--demonstrate the beneficial effects of privatization in the presence of stabilization and decreasing corruption.

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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 1954.

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Date of creation: 31 Aug 1998
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:1954

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Keywords: Banks&Banking Reform Economic Theory&Research Environmental Economics&Policies Municipal Financial Management Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring Banks&Banking Reform Environmental Economics&Policies Municipal Financial Management Economic Theory&Research Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Vining, Aidan R & Boardman, Anthony E, 1992. " Ownership versus Competition: Efficiency in Public Enterprise," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 73(2), pages 205-39, March.
  2. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Pohl, Gerhard, 1997. "Ownership and corporate governance : evidence from the Czech Republic," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1737, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  3. Craig Burnside & Martin Eichenbaum & Sergio Rebelo, 1995. "Capital utilization and returns to scale," Working Paper Series, Macroeconomic Issues 95-5, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    Other versions:
  4. Simeon Djankov & Gerhard Pohl, 1997. "Restructuring of Large Firms in Slovakia," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 73, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
  5. Vernon-Wortzel, Heidi & Wortzel, Lawrence H., 1989. "Privatization: Not the only answer," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 633-641, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Kikeri, Sunita & Nellis, John & Shirley, Mary, 1994. "Privatization: Lessons from Market Economies," World Bank Research Observer, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 241-72, July.
  7. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silane, 1997. "The Benefits of Privatization: Evidence from Mexico," NBER Working Papers 6215, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Djankov, Simeon & Pohl, Gerhard, 1997. "The restructuring of large firms in Slovakia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1758, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  9. Barberis, Nicholas & Maxim Boycko & Andrei Shleifer & Natalia Tsukanova, 1996. "How Does Privatization Work? Evidence from the Russian Shops," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(4), pages 764-90, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Alesina, A. & Drazen, A., 1991. "Why Are Stabilizations Delayed?," Papers 6-91, Tel Aviv - the Sackler Institute of Economic Studies.
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  11. Bishop, Matthew R. & Kay, John A., 1989. "Privatization in the United Kingdom: Lessons from experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 643-657, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Bernard, Andrew B & Jones, Charles I, 1996. "Comparing Apples to Oranges: Productivity Convergence and Measurement across Industries and Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1216-38, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Pinto, Brian & van Wijnbergen, Sweder, 1994. "Ownership and corporate control in Poland : why state firms defied the odds," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1308, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  14. Megginson, William L & Nash, Robert C & van Randenborgh, Matthias, 1994. " The Financial and Operating Performance of Newly Privatized Firms: An International Empirical Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(2), pages 403-52, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Waring, Geoffrey F, 1996. "Industry Differences in the Persistence of Firm-Specific Returns," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1253-65, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1994. "Politicians and Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 109(4), pages 995-1025, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Bailey, Elizabeth E, 1986. "Price and Productivity Change Following Deregulation: The U.S. Experience," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 96(381), pages 1-17, March.
  18. Blanchard, Olivier, 1996. "Theoretical Aspects of Transition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 117-22, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Amemiya, Takeshi, 1974. "Multivariate Regression and Simultaneous Equation Models when the Dependent Variables Are Truncated Normal," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(6), pages 999-1012, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Marko Simoneti & Aleksandra Gregoric, 2004. "Managerial ownership and corporate performance in Slovenian post-privatisation period," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 1(2), pages 217-241, December. [Downloadable!]
  2. Enrico C. Perotti & Luc Laeven & Pieter van Oijen, 2000. "Confidence Building in Emerging Stock Markets," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 366, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Bartel, Ann P. & Harrison, Ann E., 2000. "Ownership versus environment : disentangling the sources of public sector inefficiency," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2272, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Ann P. Bartel & Ann E. Harrison, 1999. "Ownership versus Environment: Why are Public Sector Firms Inefficient?," NBER Working Papers 7043, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Perotti, Enrico C & van Oijen, Pieter, 1999. "Privatization, Political Risk and Stock Market Development," CEPR Discussion Papers 2243, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Budina, Nina & Garretsen, Harry & de Jong, Elke, 2000. "Liquidity constraints and investment in transition economies - the case of Bulgaria," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2278, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  7. Enrico C. Perotti & Pieter van Oijen, 1999. "Privatization, Political Risk and Stock Market Development in Emerging Economies," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 99-033/2, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Coricelli, Fabrizio & Djankov, Simeon, 2001. "Hardened Budgets and Enterprise Restructuring: Theory and an Application to Romania," CEPR Discussion Papers 2950, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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