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on Business Economics |
| By: | Adrianto, Adrianto (University of Minnesota); Ben-Ner, Avner (University of Minnesota); Sockin, Jason (IZA); Urtasun, Ainhoa (Universidad Pública de Navarra) |
| Abstract: | Do employees fare better in firms they partly own? Examining workers' reviews of their employers on Glassdoor, we compare employee satisfaction between firms in which workers own company shares through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and conventional firms in which they do not. Focusing on workers in U.S. manufacturing, we find employees report greater satisfaction in employee-owned firms overall and with specific aspects of jobs such as firm culture. This satisfaction premium is greater when the ESOP is the product of collective bargaining or employees own a larger stake of firm equity. Employee well-being can thus differ by ownership arrangement. |
| Keywords: | ESOP, job satisfaction, collective bargaining, culture |
| JEL: | J52 J28 M14 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17233 |
| By: | Kossi Messanh Agbekponou (SMART - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Rennes Angers - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement); Angela Cheptea (SMART - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Rennes Angers - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement); Karine Latouche (SMART - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Rennes Angers - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses how the quality of produced goods affects firms' position in global value chains (GVCs). Extending the theoretical framework of Chor et al. (2021), we find that quality upgrading increases the span of production stages performed by the firm: it imports more upstream (less transformed) intermediate products and exports more downstream (more highly processed) products. Expansion along GVCs through quality upgrading is accompanied by an increase in input purchases, assets, value added, and profits. These theoretical predictions are tested using 2004-2017 firm-level data on French agri-food industries (from French customs and the AMADEUS database). In line with recent work, we identify firms that participate in GVCs with those that jointly import and export, and measure firms' position in value chains through the level of transformation (upstreamness) of goods they use and produce. We use several ways to measure product quality at firm level, all inspired by the commonly accepted assumption that, at equal prices, higher quality products are sold in larger quantities. Our findings confirm the prediction that higher-quality firms use more upstream inputs produced by other firms to produce more transformed outputs, and perform a larger span of intermediate production stages in-house. We find limited empirical evidence in support of other predictions. |
| Keywords: | Global value chains, Production line position, Quality upgrading, Upstreamness, Agri-food industry |
| Date: | 2024–05–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04666099 |
| By: | Dogan, Aydan (Bank of England); Hjortsoe, Ida (Bank of England) |
| Abstract: | Through what channels do fluctuations in the financial costs of exporting affect exports, and how important are financial conditions for export dynamics over the business cycle? We first establish, using balance sheet data for UK manufacturing firms, that exporting firms have more short-term liabilities than non-exporting firms. We find evidence consistent with exporting firms taking on these short-term loans to (partly) cover labour costs. We then build a model with heterogeneous firms in which exporters need to access external finance to export, in line with the evidence, and parameterise it to UK data. We use rich firm level data to inform the calibration of the financial costs facing exporting firms, and estimate the shock processes in our model with Bayesian methods. Our estimations show that global shocks to the financial costs of exporting are the main driver of UK export dynamics over the business cycle, alongside shocks to productivity. These two shocks each contribute to around a third of UK export dynamics. Moreover, we find that global shocks to the financial costs of exporting played a crucial role in explaining the fall in UK exports in the early stages of the Global Trade Collapse, and slowed the recovery. |
| Keywords: | Open economy macroeconomics; small open economy; exports; trade finance; heterogeneous firms |
| JEL: | F41 F44 F47 |
| Date: | 2024–08–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boe:boeewp:1072 |
| By: | Julia Schmidt; Graham Pilgrim; Annabelle Mourougane |
| Abstract: | By combining information from online job postings with firm-level financial data provided by Orbis, as well as firm-level merchandise trade data, this paper seeks to get a deeper understanding of the characteristics and performance of data-intensive firms in the United Kingdom since 2015. Data-intensive firms are defined here as firms which are hiring data-related skills. One key contribution of the analysis is to match in a more efficient way the two data sources, Lightcast and Orbis, which are now used extensively in the economic literature. Both the number and the share of data-intensive firms increased sharply in the United Kingdom from 2015 to 2021, with a peak in 2020. The number of highly data-intensive companies and data-intensive multinationals (MNEs) display the same pattern. A large share of data-intensive firms operate within the information and communication industry and are predominantly located in the Greater London area, especially in London itself. Those firms tend to employ more staff and are more capitalised than non data-intensive firms. They are on average more productive, generate more revenues and trade more in foreign markets. While data-intensive firms can be found in all firm size groups, the firms displaying on average the highest level of data intensity were medium sized in 2015 but are now small sized. In terms of international trade, UK dataintensive firms are, generally, more export intensive than non data-intensive firms, but estimates vary across industries. |
| Date: | 2024–09–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stdaaa:2024/07-en |
| By: | Natália Barbosa (School of Economics and Management, University of Minho) |
| Abstract: | The adoption of new digital technologies offers new opportunities and has the scope to engender positive effects on firms’ expansion and success in international markets. This paper examines the main factors driving the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-related digital technologies that enable the Industry 4.0 transformation and whether these new generation of digital technologies affect exporting performance at firm level. Using a rich and representative sample of Portuguese firms over the period 2014-2020, the estimated results suggest that firm’s ex-ante performance, digital infrastructures and in-house ICT skills are the main drivers of digitalisation. However, conditional to ex-ante firm’s performance, there are heterogenous effects on exporting performance across digital technologies and across industries. Moreover, there is evidence of positive selection towards large firms, casting doubts on the inclusiveness of the adoption process and the performance effects of AI and AI-related technologies. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0 enabling digital technologies, firms’ exporting performance |
| JEL: | L20 H81 L25 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mde:wpaper:183 |
| By: | Joaquín Matías Liwski (Department of Economics, Universidad de San Andrés) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the diverse impacts of corporate acquisitions on employees with data from Brazil’s formal employment sector (RAIS survey, 2007-2015) and the Thomson Reuters SDC Platinum Database. Employing a matched event studies design, I navigate labor market complexities, revealing heterogeneous effects at individual and firm levels. Notably, the analysis uncovers a significant short-term increase in log-wages for individuals in acquired firms, particularly in the immediate 0 to 1 years following events; however, separation outcomes predominantly occur in the same year as the acquisition. Job changes play a pivotal role, with incumbents and voluntary leavers experiencing positive outcomes, while involuntary terminations lead to declines, also in the long-run. The study explores age-related, educational, skill-based, and occupational differences, showing diverse impacts across these dimensions. Additionally, firm size emerges as a critical factor, influencing log-wages and separation outcomes. Ultimately, the change in firm productivity or firm-specific wage premiums drives observed effects, underlining one mechanism of M&A impacts on the workforce. |
| Date: | 2023–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sad:ypaper:14 |
| By: | Elsner, Benjamin (University College Dublin); Flaherty, Eoin T. (University College Dublin); Haller, Stefanie (University College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of the Brexit referendum on Irish exporters to the UK. The referendum triggered a sharp devaluation of the British pound vis-a-vis the euro and led to considerable uncertainty about future trade relations between the UK and the EU. Using administrative data on the universe of Irish exporters, we compare exporters with different levels of exposure to the UK market before the referendum. Our findings do not point to a significant effect of the referendum on Irish exporters. Over the period 2015-2021, the firms least exposed to the UK - but most internationalised otherwise - had considerably higher exit rates from exporting to the UK and from the market overall. They also saw greater declines in employment and sales compared to more exposed firms. We do not find significant differences for export volumes to the UK or elsewhere or for average wages. These findings are robust to controlling for a variety of firm characteristics. |
| Keywords: | Brexit, firm performance, trade, wages, employment |
| JEL: | E65 F02 F13 F14 F15 F16 F31 F40 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17229 |
| By: | Neifar, Malika |
| Abstract: | Purpose: The scope of this paper is to see if the aggregate information and communications technology index (ICT) drives firm performance (profitability and efficiency) for BRICS countries from a des-aggregate panel data of the firm-yearly level (by country) during 2014-2022, from an aggregate monthly time series data and a panel data of country-monthly level during 2014-01-2014-12, all covering the Covid outbreak event. Design/methodology/approach: Through static and dynamic long-run (LR) panel models, the Bayesian VAR-X short-run (SR) approach, and the time series and the panel (LR and SR) ARDL models, we investigate the stability of the linkage between firm performance and the aggregate ICT vis à vis the Covid outbreak. Findings: Using an international sample of 316 FinTech firms from BRICS countries, we find that ICT mechanisms on their own are in general negatively associated with firm performance (profitability and efficiency) with some exceptions. We also find that the ICT and the firm-performance relationship is more significant among countries with respect to the considered pre ou post Covid 19 outbreak period. Originality: The novelty of this research is based on the idea of studying the effect of the aggregate ICT on firm performance by using several dynamic approaches so that we can estimate the SR adjustments that arise from the impact of ICT to the LR relationship. |
| Keywords: | FinTech Firm performance and ICT; BRICS area; Dynamic Panel Regressions and GMM for firm level panel data; Bayesian VAR-X and ARDL models for TS data; PARDL for macro panel data; Covid 19 outbreak |
| JEL: | C11 C22 C23 O33 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:121772 |
| By: | Harju, Jarkko; Juuti, Toni; Matikka, Tuomas |
| Abstract: | Using full-population data from Finland, we show that individuals at the top of the income distribution are significantly more likely to start new incorporated businesses compared to others. There is no similar selection based on parental income, but more than half of new entrepreneurs have entrepreneurial parents. Individual income gains from entrepreneurship are similar across different background characteristics, but parental entrepreneurship and personal income are positively linked to key firm-level outcomes such as productivity and job creation. This highlights the importance of the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurial skills and suggests that businesses established by high-income individuals generate largest positive spillovers. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, income mobility, inequality, productivity, Social security, taxation and inequality, Business taxation and regulation, L26, J24, J3, fi=Tulonjako ja eriarvoisuus|sv=Inkomstfördelning och ojämlikhet|en=Income distribution and inequality|, |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fer:wpaper:168 |
| By: | Acabbi, Edoardo (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Alati, Andrea (Bank of England); Mazzone, Luca (International Monetary Fund) |
| Abstract: | Using administrative data, we document that workers acquire more human capital at more productive firms. Recessions distort workers-firm sorting, flatten the job ladder and impact human capital accumulation, as workers match on average to worse firms. To quantify the aggregate relevance of these effects, we build a directed search model with aggregate risk and worker-firm heterogeneity, in which human capital accumulation depends on firm quality. We estimate the model and show that recessions have persistent negative effects on the productivity of worker-firm matches, with distortions in sorting and human capital accumulation accounting for approximately 30% of cumulative output losses. |
| Keywords: | Human capital accumulation; hysteresis; sorting; scarring |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J24 J63 |
| Date: | 2024–08–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boe:boeewp:1077 |