10.11.2023
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Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on regularities concerning the relationship between the rule of law and economic concentration. We use panel data on the largest companies in ten countries in Southeast Europe between 2009 and 2021 to assess the impact of the rule of law on aggregate concentration, that is, the share of the largest companies in total economic activity. Using fixed-effects panel models and an instrumental variables approach, we find that improvements in the rule of law are associated with greater economic concentration. This finding is consistent with previous research on institutional development and firms’ performance in Eastern Europe. It suggests that improvements in the rule of law benefit existing export-oriented companies and that policy efforts should be focused on smaller, start-up firms.
Keywords: institutions, corruption, economic power, size distribution of firms, large companies
JEL code: D02, E02, L11, O43, P37
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Издаваната от Стопанския факултет и Центъра за икономически теории и стопански политики към СУ "Св. Климент Охридски" поредица от дискусионни материали (working paper series) Bulgarian Economic Papers (bep.bg) е индексирана от EconPapers на RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) и CEEOL (Central and Eastern European Online Library).
В поредицата (ISSN: 2367-7082) се приемат текстове в областта на икономиката и стопанското управление с фокус върху проблеми на Югоизточна Европа и бившите стопанства в преход, без да се изключват глобални проблеми на икономическата теория и практика. Изследванията могат да имат емпиричен характер или да развиват и прилагат теоретични модели.