Predation, Protection, and Productivity: A Firm-Level Perspective

Timothy J. Besley · Hannes Mueller

59 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Economic Journal Macroeconomics

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Merger and Competition Analysis Corruption and Economic Development Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems

Abstract

This paper studies the consequences of predation when firms deploy guard labor as a means of protecting themselves. We build a simple model and combine it with data for 144 countries from the World Bank enterprise surveys, which ask about firm-level experiences with predation and spending on protection. We use the model to estimate the output loss caused by the misallocation of labor across firms and from production to protection. The loss due to protection effort is substantial and patterns of state protection at the micro level can have a profound impact on aggregate output losses. Various extensions are discussed. (JEL D22, D24, J24, K40, L84, O17)

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References

1968Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach 2001The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation 1999Why do Some Countries Produce So Much More Output Per Worker than Others?2012The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation: Reply 2009Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India *2000The Regulation of Entry 1978On the Size Distribution of Business Firms 1967THE WELFARE COSTS OF TARIFFS, MONOPOLIES, AND THEFT

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