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The Effects Of Privatization And International Competitive Pressure On Firms??? Price-Cost Margins: Micro Evidence From Emerging Economies1

Author

Listed:
  • Jozef Konings
  • Patrick Van Cayseele
  • Frederic Warzynski

Abstract

This paper uses representative firm level panel data of 1,701 Bulgarian and 2,047 Romanian manufacturing firms to estimate price-cost margins and to analyze how these are affected by privatization and increased competitive pressure. The estimation method used, which is based on Roeger (1995), deals with potential endogeneity problems that are associated with estimating firm performance, by making use of the properties of the primal and dual Solow residual. We find that privatization is associated with higher price-cost margins in both Bulgaria and Romania. Moreover, foreign owned firms have higher markups than domestic privatized firms. Our results suggest that the sequencing of reforms, such as demonopolization prior to privatization and the establishment of competition policy, may be important. In addition, our results give support to the idea that opening to trade has a disciplining effect on firms??? market power. We find that increased import penetration is associated with lower price-cost margins in sectors where product market concentration is relatively high. Our results can be of relevance for other emerging economies, such as China and Vietnam, which still have to undergo major privatization programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Jozef Konings & Patrick Van Cayseele & Frederic Warzynski, 2003. "The Effects Of Privatization And International Competitive Pressure On Firms??? Price-Cost Margins: Micro Evidence From Emerging Economies1," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2003-603, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    • Handle: RePEc:wdi:papers:2003-603
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Doan, Tinh & Stevens, Philip, 2012. "Evolution of competition in Vietnam industries over the recent economic transition," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 6, pages 1-24.
    2. Rumen Dobrinsky & Gabor Korosi & Nikolay Markov & Laszlo Halpern, 2004. "Firms’ Price Markups and Returns to Scale in Imperfect Markets - Bulgaria and Hungary," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 0412, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    3. Andrei Medvedev & Alena Zemplinerová, 2005. "Does Competition Improve Performance? Evidence from the Czech Manufacturing Industries," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2005(4), pages 317-330.
    4. John Hutchinson, 2003. "Is there a Lower Bound to the Firm Size Distribution Comparing Transition Economies with an Established Market Economy," LICOS Discussion Papers 13503, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    market power; privatization; firm performance; transition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
    • P3 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions
    • P5 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems

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