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Human Capital Loss In Corporate Bankruptcy

Author

Listed:
  • John R. Graham
  • Hyunseob Kim
  • Si Li
  • Jiaping Qiu

Abstract

This paper quantifies the “human costs of bankruptcy” by estimating employee wage losses induced by the bankruptcy filing of employers using employee-employer matched data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s LEHD program. We find that employee wages begin to deteriorate one year prior to bankruptcy. One year after bankruptcy, the magnitude of the decline in annual wages is 30% of pre-bankruptcy wages. The decrease in wages persists (at least) for five years post-bankruptcy. The present value of wage losses summed up to five years after bankruptcy amounts to 29-49% of the average pre-bankruptcy market value of firm. Furthermore, we find that the ex-ante wage premium to compensate for the ex-post wage loss due to bankruptcy can be of similar magnitude with that of the tax benefits of debt.

Suggested Citation

  • John R. Graham & Hyunseob Kim & Si Li & Jiaping Qiu, 2013. "Human Capital Loss In Corporate Bankruptcy," Working Papers 13-37, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:13-37
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    File URL: https://www2.census.gov/ces/wp/2013/CES-WP-13-37.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Gupta, Kartick & Krishnamurti, Chandrasekhar, 2018. "Does corporate social responsibility engagement benefit distressed firms? The role of moral and exchange capital," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 249-262.
    3. Martin Olsson & Joacim Tåg, 2017. "Private Equity, Layoffs, and Job Polarization," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(3), pages 697-754.
    4. Chowdhury, Rajib & Doukas, John A., 2022. "Protection of trade secrets and value of cash holdings: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. Junwei Shi & Haiyan Fu, 2017. "Has The Industrial Structure Of Western Provinces In China Been Differential? Evidence From The Sip Framework," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 62(04), pages 905-928, September.
    6. Pandey, Ashish, 2016. "The Indian Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill: A Squandered Opportunity," MPRA Paper 71698, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bankruptcy; Costs of financial distress; Human capital; Wage loss; Capital structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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