The Privatization Origins of Political Corporations

Evidence from the Pinochet Regime

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5752887
AutoresFelipe González (0000-0002-2174-0900, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Mounu Prem (0000-0002-2059-5991, Universidad del Rosario), Francisco Urzúa I (0000-0003-4681-7684, City, University of London)
Ano2020
Volume80
Fascículo2
Páginas417-456
Data de publicação2020-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Journal of Economic History (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0022-0507 • E-ISSN: 1471-6372
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0022050719000780
OpenAlexW2996856361
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10
Referências citadas67

We show that the sale of state-owned firms in dictatorships can help political corporations to emerge and persist over time. Using new data, we characterize Pinochet's privatizations in Chile and find that some firms were sold underpriced to politically connected buyers. These newly private firms benefited financially from the Pinochet regime. Once democracy arrived, they formed connections with the new government, financed political campaigns, and were more likely to appear in the Panama Papers. These findings reveal how dictatorships can influence young democracies using privatization reforms

Business · Democracy · Dictatorship · Economics · Government (linguistics) · Market economy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · State (computer science) · Corporate Finance and Governance · Corruption and Economic Development · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies