Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP6603
Authors: Irina Denisova; Markus Eller; Timothy Frye; Ekaterina Zhuravskaya
Abstract: A 2006 survey of 28,000 individuals in 28 post-communist countries reveals overwhelming support for revising privatization, but most respondents prefer to leave firms in private hands. We examine who wants to revise privatization and why. Respondents with poor human capital and few assets support revising privatization due to a preference for state over private property. Economic hardships during transition increase support for revising privatization due to the perceived unfairness of privatization. The institutional environment has no impact on how human capital and asset ownership influence attitudes toward privatization, but does affect how economic hardships during transition shape these attitudes.
Keywords: Demand for property rights; Legitimacy of property rights; Nationalization; Privatization; Property rights revision; Transition
JEL Codes: L33; P20; P26; P50
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| lower human capital (J24) | support revising privatization (L33) |
| fewer assets (D14) | support revising privatization (L33) |
| economic hardships during transition (P27) | support revising privatization (L33) |
| perceptions of unfairness (D63) | support revising privatization (L33) |
| government corruption (H57) | attitudes towards privatization (L33) |
| ideological preferences (P16) | attitudes towards privatization (L33) |
| older respondents (J14) | support revising privatization (L33) |
| lower-skilled jobs (F66) | support revising privatization (L33) |