Browsing by Author "Huneeus, Federico"

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    Financing firms in hibernation during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (2021) Didier, Tatiana; Huneeus, Federico; Larrain, Mauricio; Schmukler, Sergio L.
    The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic halted economic activity worldwide, hurting firms and pushing many of them toward bankruptcy. This paper discusses four central issues that have emerged in the academic and policy debates related to firm financing during the downturn. First, the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic is radically different from past crises, with important consequences for optimal policy responses. Second, it is important to preserve firms' relationships with key stakeholders (e.g., workers, suppliers, customers, and creditors) to avoid inefficient bankruptcies and long-term detrimental economic effects. Third, firms can benefit from "hibernation," incurring the minimum bare expenses necessary to withstand the pandemic while using credit to remain alive until the crisis subdues. Fourth, the existing legal and regulatory infrastructure is ill-equipped to deal with an exogenous systemic shock like a pandemic. Financial sector policies can help channel credit to firms, but they are hard to implement and entail different trade-offs. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.
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    Ownership networks and labor income
    (2023) Huneeus, Federico; Larrain, Borja; Larrain, Mauricio; Prem, Mounu
    We document a novel relationship between networks of firms linked through ownership (i.e., business groups) and labor income using matched employer-employee data for Chile. Business group affiliation is associated with higher wages, even after controlling for firm size and individual worker effects. The group premium is stronger for top workers; hence, group firms have higher wage dispersion. The premium remains present when comparing group firms and matched stand-alone firms, and in within-firm comparisons using transitions in and out of groups. Our results are consistent with workers reaching higher productivity and wages by leveraging their skills on the group's organizational structure (JEL G32, J31).
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    The internal labor markets of business groups
    (2021) Huneeus, Federico; Larrain, Borja; Larrain, Mauricio; Prem, Mounu
    This paper provides micro evidence of labor mobility inside business groups. We show that worker flows between firms in the same group are stronger than with unaffiliated firms. Moreover, the reallocation of top workers between group firms is more sensitive to international shocks. Top workers that move within the group in response to shocks reach higher positions and earn higher wages. We find suggestive evidence that productivity increases when firms receive same-group top workers. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that, in response to changing opportunities, joint ownership eases the redeployment of workers endowed with general management skills.