Does Privatization Raise Productivity? Evidence from Comprehensive Panel Data on Manufacturing Firms in Hungary, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine

W.E. Upjohn Institute Staff Working Paper No. 04-107

52 Pages Posted: 29 Dec 2004

See all articles by J. David Brown

J. David Brown

US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

John S. Earle

George Mason University - Schar School of Policy and Government; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Almos Telegdy

Corvinus University of Budapest; Magyar Nemzeti Bank

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: November 2004

Abstract

We analyze the impact of privatization on multifactor productivity (MFP) using long panel data for nearly the universe of initially state-owned manufacturing firms in four economies. Controlling for firm and industry-year fixed effects and employing a wide variety of measurement approaches, we estimate that majority privatization raises MFP about 28 percent in Romania, 22 percent in Hungary, and 3 percent in Ukraine, with some variation across specifications, while in Russia it lowers it about 4 percent. Privatization to foreign rather than domestic investors has a larger impact (about 44 percent) and is much more consistent across countries. The positive effects emerge within a year in Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine and continue to grow thereafter, but are still ambiguous even after 5 years in Russia. Pre-privatization MFP exceeds that of firms remaining state-owned in all countries, implying that cross-sectional estimates overstate privatization effects. The patterns of the estimated effects cast doubt on a number of explanations for "when privatization works."

Keywords: Privatization, productivity, foreign ownership, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, transition

JEL Classification: D24, G34, L33, P31

Suggested Citation

Brown, J. David and Earle, John S. and Telegdy, Almos, Does Privatization Raise Productivity? Evidence from Comprehensive Panel Data on Manufacturing Firms in Hungary, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine (November 2004). W.E. Upjohn Institute Staff Working Paper No. 04-107, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=634081 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.634081

J. David Brown

US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies ( email )

4600 Silver Hill Road
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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
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Germany

John S. Earle (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Schar School of Policy and Government ( email )

3351 Fairfax Drive
MS 3B1
Arlington, VA 22201
United States
703-993-8023 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://earle.gmu.edu

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Almos Telegdy

Corvinus University of Budapest ( email )

Hungary

Magyar Nemzeti Bank ( email )

Szabadsag ter 8-9
Budapest, H-1850
Hungary

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