Working Paper

The Timing of Mass Layoff Episodes : Evidence from U.S. Microdata

Abstract: This paper studies employment decisions at U.S. companies over the 2007-2012 period, during and after the Great Recession. To this end, I build a panel dataset that matches publicly-listed companies' financial reports to their announced layoff episodes. Using limited dependent variable regressions, I find that layoffs respond to accumulated changes in a company's financial conditions. While recent financial changes have the largest impacts on layoff propensities, financial changes over at least four previous quarters appear to have additional marginal effects.

Keywords: Downsizing; Employment adjustment costs;

JEL Classification: J21; J63; E24;

https://doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2017.088

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)

Part of Series: Finance and Economics Discussion Series

Publication Date: 2017-08-22

Number: 2017-088

Pages: 32 pages