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What Happens to the Employers Involved in Mass Layoffs?

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  • Elizabeth Weber Handwerker
  • Lowell Mason

Abstract

We apply the empirical framework of the displaced worker literature to the study of outcomes for displacing employers. Long‐term patterns of employment, average wages, and closure probabilities before and after mass layoffs vary by the reason for layoffs, the industry of employers, employer age, and the period in which the layoff took place. Employers with mass layoffs during the Great Recession and the recovery that has followed have milder patterns of employment levels and closure probabilities than employers with layoffs in previous periods. These differences are not fully explained by changes in the observable characteristics of employers and layoffs.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth Weber Handwerker & Lowell Mason, 2018. "What Happens to the Employers Involved in Mass Layoffs?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(2), pages 485-507, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:85:y:2018:i:2:p:485-507
    DOI: 10.1002/soej.12294
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