University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics

About: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Productivity & Tourism. The organization has 251 authors who have published 533 publications receiving 16109 citations.

Growing Lemons and Cherries? Pre- and Post-Acquisition Performance of Foreign-Acquired Firms in New EU-Member States

Abstract: Foreign acquisitions are an increasingly important mode of FDI in the new EU member states (NMS). Using firm-level data and a common estimation framework for seven NMS we study pre-and post- acquisition performance of acquired firms. We find that selection criteria of target firms differ significantly across countries. In some countries the evidence supports the idea of “cherry picking” with better firms being chosen as targets for acquisition, while in the others “lemons” with growth potential tend to get selected. Regardless of whether “cherries” or “lemons” are targeted, performance of acquired firms improved after the acquisition, whereby the boost in productivity has not been achieved by a reduction in employment, as it even increased, but rather by increased efficiency in the use of labor and especially capital. Additionally, foreign ownership is found to yield biggest rewards to small, less productive firms.

Electoral Laws, Political Institutions and Long-Run Development: Evidence from Latin America, 1800-2012

Abstract: This paper exploits the variation in the timing of electoral law enforcement across nine Latin American countries to consistently examine the contribution of de jure and de facto political institutions to long-run development. The set of novel measures of electoral law enforcement is constructed focusing on de jure vs. de facto suffrage extension, abolition of wealth- and literacy-based voting restrictions, electoral fraud and oppression drawing on the extensive and largely unexploited Latin American historical bibliography. A simple difference-in-differences model of de jure and de facto institutional development is built to account for the effect of electoral law enforcement on institutional development, and used as a source of variation in long-run development paths. The evidence suggests the timing of enforcing electoral laws largely accounts for the contrasting paths of de jure and de facto institutional development in post-independence Latin America. The institutional changes toward suffrage extension, removal of voting restrictions and level-playing field with more inclusive de jure and de facto institutional setup are associated with large-scale improvements in long-run development paths. The effects of de jure and de facto institutions on long-run development do not depend on sample selection, specification bias or unobserved heterogeneity. The counterfactual scenario suggests having de jure and de facto political institutions on a similar level to the United States since independence would yield massive economic gains by narrowing Latin America’s gap behind the U.S by a fifth. The counterfactual based on the institutional parallels of the U.S, Australia or United Kingdom in appears to speak in favor of large-scale gains in long-run development compared to the much smaller gains from the institutional design based on French, Spanish or Portuguese institutional benchmark.