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Does divestment matter for firm performance?: Evidence from the Indian experience

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  • Ghosh, Saibal

Abstract

We employ data on federal government-owned public enterprises since the 1980s that encompass the partial privatization program to examine its impact on a gamut of performance measures. The analysis indicates that fully government-owned firms are significantly less profitable than partially privatized ones. The evidence also indicates that while the improvements in profitability largely occur during the one to three years just before privatization, the progress in terms of leverage and employment are typically spread out over a much longer period. Finally, the results indicate that the auction method of privatization maximizes government revenues, after controlling for the state of economic activity and other macroeconomic factors.

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  • Ghosh, Saibal, 2008. "Does divestment matter for firm performance?: Evidence from the Indian experience," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 372-388, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecosys:v:32:y:2008:i:4:p:372-388
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    1. Yaseen Ghulam, 2018. "Is the Improved Financial Performance after Broader Reforms and Privatisation Long-Lasting and Uniform Across Industries?," Review of Economics & Finance, Better Advances Press, Canada, vol. 13, pages 77-92, August.
    2. Jain, Ritika, 2017. "Public sector enterprise disinvestment in India: Efficiency gains in a political context," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 18-36.
    3. Aidan R. VINING & Anthony E. BOARDMAN & Mark A. MOORE, 2014. "The Theory And Evidence Pertaining To Local Government Mixed Enterprises," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(1), pages 53-86, March.
    4. Saibal Ghosh, 2016. "Billionaire Wealth, Firm Performance and Financial Crisis: An Empirical Analysis for India," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 5(2), pages 133-156, December.
    5. Ghulam, Yaseen, 2017. "Long-run performance of an industry after broader reforms including privatization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 745-768.
    6. Aidan R. Vining & David L. Weimer, 2016. "The challenges of fractionalized property rights in public‐private hybrid organizations: The good, the bad, and the ugly," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 161-178, June.
    7. Ghosh, Saibal, 2009. "Do productivity and ownership really matter for growth? Firm-level evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 1403-1413, November.
    8. Jain, Ritika, 2021. "Is R&D spending influenced by disinvestment and local political corruption? The case of Indian central public sector enterprises," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(3).
    9. Priya Mandiratta & G.S. Bhalla, 2017. "Pre and Post Disinvestment Performance Evaluation of Indian CPSEs," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 42(2), pages 120-134, May.

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