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Family Firms and Labor Relations

Author

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  • Holger M. Mueller
  • Thomas Philippon

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between family ownership and the quality of labor relations. We find that family ownership is more prevalent in countries in which labor relations are hostile, consistent with the notion that family firms are particularly effective at coping with difficult labor relations. Our results are robust to controlling for minority shareholder protection and other potential determinants of family ownership. To address endogeneity issues, we show that, controlling for industry- and country-fixed effects, industries that are more labor dependent have relatively more family ownership in countries with worse labor relations. (JEL G32, G34, J52, J53)

Suggested Citation

  • Holger M. Mueller & Thomas Philippon, 2011. "Family Firms and Labor Relations," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 218-245, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:3:y:2011:i:2:p:218-45
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mac.3.2.218
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence

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