Documents Sly, Nicholas 2 results

"Using detailed administrative data linking French firms and workers over the years 2002-2007, we document a distinct U-shaped pattern in worker-level wages surrounding the time their employer is acquired by a foreign firm, with a dip in earnings observed in years just before domestic firms switch to MNE status. The dip in earnings is evident in both wages and in-kind payments given to workers. To guide our empirical approach, we present a simple model with fair wage considerations among workers and endogenous cross-border acquisition activity that predicts this U-shaped pattern, and characterizes the selection of domestic targets for acquisition by an MNE."

"Using detailed administrative data that link French firms and workers over the years 2002 to 2007, the authors document declines in worker-level wages ahead of the time their employer is acquired by a foreign firm that are more than offset by gains in wages that emerge after cross-border acquisition. Specifically, relative wages fall by an estimated 7.5% in the years just before foreign acquisition, and they rise by approximately 12.5% in the years afterward. Changes in workers' earnings are evident in both wages and in-kind payments given to workers. Moreover, the authors provide theoretical foundations for the conditional mean independence assumption that underlies commonly applied empirical techniques."