Job Transitions and Employee Earnings after Acquisitions

Linking Corporate and Worker Outcomes

Bibliographic Data

ID19316391
AuthorsDavid Arnold (0000-0002-8781-4095, University of California, San Diego [email protected], corresponding author), Kevin Milligan (0000-0002-0998-0581, University of British Columbia [email protected]), Terry S Moon (University of British Columbia [email protected]), Terry Moon (University of British Columbia), Amir Tavakoli (0009-0007-3519-2048, University of British Columbia Hospital), Amirhossein Tavakoli (University of British Columbia [email protected])
Year2026
Pages1-44
Publication date2026-05-14
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Review of Economics and Statistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-6535 • E-ISSN: 1530-9142
PublisherMIT Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1162/rest.a.1787
OpenAlexW4388642043
LanguageEN
References cited7

This paper connects changes in employer characteristics through job transitions to employee earnings following mergers and acquisitions. Using firm balance sheet data linked to individual earnings data in Canada and a matched difference-in-differences design, we find that earnings of workers at target firms decrease after M&As relative to control workers, largely driven by those who move to other firms. Workers leaving targets move to larger and more profitable firms, but still experience wage declines. These decreased earnings are also concentrated among workers with longer tenure. These results are consistent with workers losing valuable match-specific premia after M&A-induced job transitions

Business · Earnings · Economics · Labour economics · Accounting · Firm Innovation and Growth · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Retirement, Disability, and Employment

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