Employment growth following takeovers

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Geurts, Karen; Van Biesebroeck, Johannes
• 署名单位: KU Leuven; Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR)
• 刊物名称: RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0741-6261
• DOI: 10.1111/1756-2171.12300
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 916-950
• 关键词: Vertical Integration; horizontal mergers; company employment; ownership changes; PRODUCTIVITY; MARKET; acquisitions; IMPACT

摘要

We construct a comprehensive sample of takeovers in Belgium that shows they are remarkably common. Takeovers involve both small and large firms and, over a five-year period, 17% of private sector employment. We estimate their impact on employment growth using a framework that explicitly takes into account that takeovers involve pairs of firms and that post-merger outcomes are heterogeneous. The average merger temporarily reduces employment of the combined entity by -1.4%. Mergers likely to be motivated by market power show a stronger and permanent employment reduction of -14%, whereas those motivated by efficiency gains lead to employment expansions of +10%.