Does Autonomy Matter in State Owned Enterprises? Evidence from Performance Contracts in India

Empirical evidence on the effect of managerial autonomy on the performance of state‐owned enterprises (SOE) is surprisingly scant despite autonomy being a preferred reform instrument over partial privatization in many countries. Using longitudinal data on performance contracts of state‐owned enterprises in India, this paper finds that managerial autonomy is associated with significant increases in enterprise profitability and efficiency. Further, using India's unique reform experience where both managerial autonomy and partial privatization were pursued side by side, the paper finds that while the positive effects of autonomy continue post‐partial privatization, the effects of partial privatization on performance are ambiguous. Specifically, once autonomy is controlled for, partial privatization has a positive effect on SOE profitability only after it crosses a critical level of government disinvestment. The findings suggest that organizational reforms such as granting managerial autonomy can be an important policy instrument in improving SOE performance particularly in cases where governments are unable to make substantial disinvestments.     

国企民营化与企业创新效率：促进还是抑制?

文章基于混合所有制改革的背景,从创新效率的视角考察了微观创新主体民营化前后创新行为的变化。研究发现,民营化抑制了企业的创新效率,企业的专利数量显著减少,这种影响在缺乏原国有大股东制衡、无系族的上市公司以及外部产权保护较弱的地区更加显著,而且相对于创业型企业,民营化企业的创新效率更低。进一步研究发现,民营化抑制企业创新效率的一个重要途径是关联交易显著增加、投资显著减少,民营化后非国有大股东更多地表现出掏空动机,减少了创新活动,降低了创新效率。文章的研究结论为理解民营化企业的效率提供了新视角,有助于我们正确认识和理解新兴转轨经济体的民营化行为,而且对于监管层如何推进混合所有制改革具有重要的政策启示。     

Pyramidal structure,risk‐taking and firm value

This article investigates the relationship among pyramidal layers, risk‐taking and firm value using a sample of local state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) in China. We find that state‐pyramidal layers have a positive and significant impact on firm risk‐taking and firm value, suggesting that the pyramidal structure formed by the state protects SOEs from political intervention. Risk‐taking is conducive to enhancing firm value and is one of the important channels through which state‐pyramidal layers increase firm value. By exploring the role of state‐pyramidal organizational structures in improving SOEs' risk‐taking, our results contribute to both corporate governance and corporate finance literature.     

国有企业民营化的约束机制研究

民营化作为国有企业产权改制的主要方式不能动摇,但必须重点研究国企民营化的约束机制。其中,产权理论难有实质性突破构成国企民营化的理论约束;部门间就业专移阻滞、分级所有的国资管理体制、利益集团行为刚性、财政资源紧张与补偿制度缺失形成国企民营化的实践约束。摆脱这些约束,国企民营化才能顺利地进行下去。     

The impact of Czech privatization methods on enterprise performance incorporating initial selection-bias correction1

Governments with transitional economies have applied different privatization methods, from an almost free distribution to the direct sale of state assets. While a free distribution was believed to ensure the political feasibility of the programme and its fairness, direct sales, (or more generally, standard privatization methods) had a significant advantage in creating concentrated ownership structures as the prerequisite to corporate control and restructuring. Many economists believe that the two goals of mass privatization, political feasibility and the creation of proper ownership incentives, contradict each other and recent empirical comparisons of enterprises seem to support this view. However, all empirical works have been based on the weak assumption that privatization methods were applied on a randomly selected sample of enterprises, which then allowed for a direct comparison between these enterprises. Our main claim is that governments actually selected enterprises non-randomly and therefore, the resulting selection-bias must be incorporated into the analyses. To show this, we apply a Heckman two-step regression method on a sample of 559 Czech enterprises. The main point of this paper then is that performance is influenced by the selection process and that the combination of vouchers with outsider owners is preferred over 100 per cent voucherization.     

The effect of privatization on wealth distribution in Russia

The paper considers the Russian privatization process and examines how its deviation from the competitive sale standard was likely to affect wealth inequality. (Privatization here is defined narrowly as the transfer of existing assets from government ownership to private hands.) While empirical evaluation is all but impossible due to the dearth of reliable data, it is feasible to analyze the institutional features of Russian privatization in terms of their effect on redistribution of wealth. The paper argues that the most relevant and interesting issue is to evaluate privatization's distributional consequences relative to the informal pre-reform property rights. In light of this, privatization is modelled as a rent-seeking contest with incumbency advantage of enterprise managers who initially held the greatest informal rights over assets. The rent-seeking contest is shown to strongly magnify this pre-reform wealth inequality reflected in the incumbency advantage.
In addition, the paper analyzes the distributional consequences for various wealth groups of the differences in the composition of their pre-reform informal wealth, most importantly a relatively large share of housing assets in the wealth of the poor. The effect of wealth redistribution on economic growth in Russia is also discussed.     

Reforming the local public sector: economics and politics in privatization of water and solid waste

Several empirical studies have analyzed the factors that influence local privatization. We examine the influence of transaction costs and political factors on local governments’ choices through new variables. We consider two relevant services accounting for different amounts of transaction costs: water and solid waste delivery. Our results show that privatization is less common for water, which has higher transaction costs. Furthermore, we find that municipalities with a conservative ruling party privatize more often regardless of the ideological orientation of the constituency. Finally, we find that intermunicipal cooperation may be a suitable organizational form for some municipalities.     

Entry decision of a vertically integrated foreign firm with downstream subsidization and upstream privatization

This study considers a vertical structure model in which an upstream state-owned enterprise (SOE) and a downstream domestic firm compete with a vertically integrated foreign firm (VIFF). We consider the cost-inefficiency of the SOE and examine the entry decisions of a VIFF under downstream subsidization. We find that without upstream privatization, the VIFF's entry decision might not be socially desirable unless it enters both markets and the cost inefficiency is intermediate. Additionally, a policy to reduce the cost inefficiency might cause a drastic welfare increase or loss when the VIFF changes its entry decision. We then examine upstream privatization and show that a substantial improvement in cost efficiency can increase welfare with privatization. When the SOE maximizes welfare, however, lesser (greater) cost efficiency improvement is necessary to increase welfare with privatization if the ex-ante cost inefficiency is high (low).     

A test of the permanent income hypothesis on Czech voucher privatization

In 1992 the Czech Republic privatized state assets, which resulted in some citizens receiving an unexpected windfall. Whether the windfall was consumed or saved provides a clear test of the permanent income hypothesis in a transitional economy. Analysis of data from a survey conducted specifically to test this hypothesis indicates that only a small number of transferred assets were consumed, a finding which is consistent with the permanent income hypothesis. JEL classification: D31, E21, H24.     

Ownership transformation,firm performance and manufacturing growth in China

Many commentators and researchers have attributed the manufacturing success in China to its ownership reforms. Using a micro database from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, this paper documents and quantifies this development. With systematic and robust analyses, it shows that the development of private ownership indeed played an essential role in improving firm performance and the allocation and utilization of production resources in the Chinese manufacturing sector. In addition, the paper estimates the contributions of firms under different ownership to manufacturing growth, showing that the development of private ownership was the driving force of manufacturing growth in China. The strong credible evidence has important policy implications for further maintaining sustainable development in China.     

企业转制过程中的国有资本流失机理分析

以建立现代企业制度为主要内容的企业转制在很大程度上是为了防止因体制不顺造成的国有资本流失,实现国有资本的保值增值.然而,在转制过程中,国有资本产权"漏入""公共领域"的"空隙"还没有被堵住,又由于转制增加了新的"空隙",为一些人进一步侵害"漏入""公共领域"的国有资本的产权制造了机会.转制过程中形成的公司制企业既制造了"内部人"进行"内部人控制"的主观动机,又形成了通向"内部人控制"的路径.转制过程中国有资本流失是体制改革付出的代价.     

国有企业绩效管理现状及对策浅析

国有企业受传统管理模式的影响,在绩效管理实施过程中出现了不少问题。主要表现在：将绩效管理简单等同于绩效考核;绩效考核指标体系设计不当;绩效评估受主观影响较大;人力资源管理基础工作薄弱;考核结果缺乏有效的应用,与员工回报之间的关系较弱。解决绩效管理效率低下的问题,应当从抓好每一个细小环节开始。因此,提出了应结合国情,注重消化、吸收和创新;建立全面科学的考核指标,定性与定量相结合;加强人力资源基础性工作,建立整合绩效管理系统;注重绩效沟通,建立绩效反馈机制;加强员工激励等五个方面的对策措施,以提高国有企业的经营管理水平。     

An exploratory study on the impact of pro-market reforms on the Indian corporate sector

Pro-market reforms were expected to increase competition, improve efficiency and reduce agency costs by improving the institutional environment in emerging markets. In an attempt to establish the macro–micro linkages of these goals, this paper aims to analyse the impact of reforms on the performance of firms belonging to different ownership categories. We find that while state owned enterprises have shown signs of convergence, the performance of other domestic firms has stagnated. Meanwhile multinational subsidiaries have shown consistently better performance, raising questions on the motive and direction of reforms. We end by discussing the policy implications and avenues for future research.     

Wage premium in the state sector and state‐owned enterprises: Econometric evidence from a transition country in times of austerity

This paper investigates the differences in the wage premium and compliance with the wage cut introduced in Serbia at the end of 2014, between two subsectors of the public sector: the state sector and state‐owned enterprises. Results show that before the austerity measures were introduced, the conditional wage premium was, on average, higher in state‐owned enterprises than in the state sector, with significant differences from the median to the top of the wage distribution. After the austerity measures were introduced, the wage differences between the subsectors deepened, due to lower compliance of state‐owned enterprises with the wage cut.     

中小会计师事务所审计风险防范分析

本文围绕小规模企业的审计风险特点,从行业和制度上分析了中小会计师事务所审计质量差的原因,同时针对其审计风险的防范提出了相应的建议。     

Effect of political connections on corporate financial constraints: new evidence from privatization in China

Taking advantage of the SOEs privatization events in China, our research looks to identify the causal effect of political connections on corporate financial constraints. In a difference-in-differences framework, we demonstrate that after the transfer of control from state to private owners, privatized SOEs hoard more cash, save more cash from incremental cash flow, and exhibit higher cash flow sensitivity of investment.     

我国国有企业民营化发行后绩效变化的影响因素分析

笔者研究了我国国有企业民营化发行前后的绩效分布和变化特征,并重点从宏观层面和微观层面分析了绩效变化的影响因素。研究表明,经济增长率、资本市场成熟度、机构投资者、集权式管理、股权再融资和独立审计选择能够促进民营化发行后绩效水平的改善,市场竞争度、大股东控制度、中央控制、股权制衡度和关联交易对民营化发行后的绩效具有显著负相关影响,而行业管制、投资者保护度、地区市场化和对外担保对民营化发行后绩效的影响效应不明显。可见,影响国有企业民营化发行后绩效变化的原因来自宏观和微观两个方面,忽视任何方面都不能全面地解释民营化绩效的变化。     

经济转轨、跨国公司进入与国有企业改革

在经济开放的背景下分析跨国公司与转轨国家之间经济的紧密联系,建立跨国公司、转轨国家政府、国内企业三者之间的混合寡占博弈模型,并以市场开放、自由化、私有化等政策变量作为影响转轨进程的外生变量,剖析开放程度和经济调控手段以及垮国企业的投资策略等对转轨国家国有企业民营化进程和转轨国家国有企业竞争力的影响,表明对国有企业完全民营化并非是改革的最优方案,而对国有企业的部分民营化效果反而会更好,也符合社会福利最大化的原则.     

THE EFFICIENCY OF THE STATE‐OWNED FIRM AND SOCIAL WELFARE: A NOTE

We consider a mixed market where a state‐owned firm competes with private firms. If the number of firms is exogenous, then a deterioration of the efficiency of the state‐owned firm might improve social welfare. This situation occurs when the state‐owned firm is inefficient and private firms are efficient. However, if the number of firms is endogenous, then a deterioration of the efficiency of the state‐owned firm must reduce social welfare.     

The impact of dual network structure on firm performance: the moderating effect of innovation strategy

ABSTRACT

Firm innovation is embedded in a collaboration network among researchers and a knowledge network composed of knowledge elements; the two networks are decoupled. Guided by social network theory, this study puts forward the definition and the classification of firm dual network structure, probes into the influence of dual network structure on firm performance, and explores the alignment between innovation strategy and firm dual network structure. We conduct an empirical study of 183 listed companies in China from 2004 to 2018. It is found that the four types of dual network structure all have positive impacts on firm performance, and the impact of a collaboration network is slightly higher than that of a knowledge network. Besides, innovation strategy plays a positive moderating role in the relationship between dual network structure and firm performance. Our findings provide new ideas for firms to identify and optimise knowledge and collaboration network structures and match them with innovation strategy to improve performance.