This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Employment and Wages in Enterprises Under Communism and in Transition: Evidence from Central Europe and Russia

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Swati Basu
Saul Estrin
Jan Svejnar

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of employment and wage behavior of firms in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Russia during the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The four main findings are: 1) There is evidence of some (not excessive) labor hoarding before the transition and it disappeared shortly thereafter; 2) The estimated elasticities of demand grew over the transition, starting from zero in Russia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and from sizeable levels in Hungary and Poland. By the end of the period, the elasticities for the four East European countries were quite similar and those for Russia had not changed significantly; 3) Once other factors are controlled for, there is no significant difference in the employment behavior among firms by ownership or legal status. However, Czech, Slovak and Polish private firms did pay higher wages than state-owned firms immediately after the start of the transition; 4) A closer examination in the Czech Republic of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and newly established firms indicates that SOEs had lower elasticities of employment and allowed less rent sharing than the newly established firms.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.wdi.umich.edu/files/Publications/WorkingPapers/wp114.pdf
File Format:
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School in its series William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series with number 114.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: pages
Date of creation: 01 May 2000
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wdi:papers:2000-114

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 724 E. University Ave. Wyly Hall, Floor 1, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1234
Phone: 734 615 4566
Fax: (734) 763-5850
Email:
Web page: http://www.wdi.umich.edu
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Patricia Loh).

Related research
Keywords: Russia; central Europe; employment; wages;

Other versions of this item:

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
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. Lizal, Lubomir & Singer, Miroslav & Svejnar, Jan, 1997. "Enterprise Break-ups and Performance During the Transition," CEPR Discussion Papers 1757, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Brown, James N & Ashenfelter, Orley, 1986. "Testing the Efficiency of Employment Contracts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages S40-S87, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Svejnar, Jan, 1982. "On the theory of a participatory firm," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 313-330, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Munich, Daniel & Svejnar, Jan & Terrell, Katherine, 2000. "Returns to Human Capital under the Communist Wage Grid and During the Transition to a Market Economy," IZA Discussion Papers 122, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Prasnikar, Janez, et al, 1994. "Behavior of Participatory Firms in Yugoslavia: Lessons for Transforming Economies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(4), pages 728-41, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. R)chard E. Quandt & Harvey S. Rosen, 1989. "Endogenous Output in an Aggregate Model of the Labor Market," NBER Technical Working Papers 0074, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Bresson, G & Kramarz, F & Sevestre, P, 1992. "Heterogeneous Labor and the Dynamics of Aggregate Labor Demand: Some Estimations Using Panel Data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 153-68.
  8. Nicolas Barberis & Maxin Boycho & Andrei Shleifer & Natalia Tsukanova, 1995. "How Does Privatization Work? Evidence from the Russian Shops," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1721, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    Other versions:
  9. Rodrik, Dani, 1992. "Foreign Trade in Eastern Europe's Transition: Early Results," CEPR Discussion Papers 676, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Svejnar, Jan, 1986. "Bargaining Power, Fear of Disagreement, and Wage Settlements: Theory and Evidence from U.S. Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 54(5), pages 1055-78, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Aghion, Philippe & Blanchard, Olivier & Burgess, Robin, 1994. "The behaviour of state firms in eastern Europe, pre-privatisation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 1327-1349, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

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. Vit Sorm & Katherine Terrell, 1999. "Sectoral Restructuring and Labor Mobility: A Comparative Look at the Czech Republic," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 273, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Natalia V. Smirnova, 2003. "Re-employment Probabilities and Wage Offer Function for Russian Labor Market," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 547, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
  3. Sorm, Vit & Terrell, Katherine, 1999. "A Comparative Look at Labour Mobility in the Czech Republic : Where Have All the Workers Gone?," CEPR Discussion Papers 2263, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Jan Svejnar, 2002. "Labor Market Flexibility in Central and East Europe," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 496, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
  5. Maxim Bouev, 2004. "Diverging Paths: Transition in the Presence of the Informal Sector," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2004-689, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
  6. Kate Bishop & Tomasz Mickiewicz, 2003. "While Labour Hoarding May Be Over, Insiders’ Control Is Not. Determinants Of Employment Growth In Polish Large Firms, 1996-2001," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2003-593, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
  7. Tomasz Mickiewicz & Kate Bishop, 2003. "Wage Determination: Privatised, New Private And State Owned Companies. Empirical Evidence From Panel Data," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 584, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
  8. Sˇtefan Bojnec, 2003. "Wage formation during economic transformation: macroeconomic facts and firm survey evidence from Slovenia," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 15(4), pages 571-593, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Jan Svejnar, 2001. "Transition Economies: Performances and Challenges," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 415, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2005. "The Wage Curve Reloaded," IZA Discussion Papers 1665, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Masso, Jaan & Heshmati, Almas, 2003. "The Optimality and Overuse of Labour in Estonian Manufacturing Enterprises," IZA Discussion Papers 884, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? The most prolific authors have over 700 items listed on IDEAS.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-19.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.