Privatization and corporate restructuring

Abstract

We examine corporate restructuring following privatization using uncommonly rich data on the population of Portuguese firms from 1991-2009. We find that privatization leads to sizable job losses, refl ecting reductions in both the number of establishments and in the number of workers per establishment. We find no robust evidence of impacts on the structure of the workforce. The estimated job losses following privatization are consistent with a theory in which the shift in ownership increases the degree of profi t orientation and leads to lower job security.