While past decades were characterized by economic liberalization and deregulation, there re-mains an enduring presence of political influence over the private economy. Such influence can either benefit (e.g. government support addressed at survival and growth prospects) or harm (e.g. reduced...

Using a newly-compiled dataset of state-owned enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa, we present aggregate information about profitability, liquidity and leverage. We find that 40 percent of the close to 300 surveyed SOEs are unprofitable, while larger firms also tend to be illiquid and...

This study examines the relation between state ownership and the performance of Chinese listed companies during the period 2002-2004. Results confirm that higher levels of direct state ownership have a negative, significant impact on market performance (Tobin’s Q) but not on operating...

The current paper analyzes the impacts of privatization of Sudan air carrier, Sudan Airways. The hypothetical framework in this study is that alternative policies other than privatization are feasible. Sudan airways represents the sovereignty of the country carrying its flag, its objectives is...

This study examines contingencies written in firms’ material product market contracts, focusing on i) exogenous uncertainty as an ex-ante determinant, and ii) operating efficiency and market beta as ex-post consequences. We extract material contracts from firms’ public regulatory filings and...