2022-10-17-IMF-IMF-国有企业在经济衰退期间如何调整_来自伊朗制造企业的证据（英）_30页_3mb

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in Iran: Adjustment Strategies During Economic Sanctions

Ebad Ebadi and Priscilla Toffano examine how Iranian manufacturing SOEs (statistically defined firms controlled by the government) adjusted during the 2012 economic sanctions. Using panel data from 2009-2013, they show sanctions reduced revenues, profits, and productivity across targeted industries, impacting both SOEs and private firms. However, SOEs exhibited less workforce adjustment, maintaining employment and wages despite declining revenues, losing competitiveness.

In contrast, private firms cut jobs and wages more significantly. Iranian labor law hindered layoffs in SOEs, protecting workers but imposing fiscal costs on the state through reduced profits and productivity. This suggests SOEs handle crises through employment protection, yet face risks of reduced efficiency and need for state recapitalization.

Regarding employee heterogeneity, sanctions disproportionately affected male workers in private firms but offered greater protection (higher employment and wages) in state-owned firms. Women faced significant inequalities in both employment and wages. Legal obstacles like restricted job hiring for women also influenced workforce composition, with SOEs absorbing more low-skilled male workers.

The study challenges previous assumptions that SOEs buffer economic shocks positively. Instead, it highlights the fiscal risks they create by protecting employment at the cost of productivity. The authors recommend clearer government policies balancing employment protection and fiscal responsibility, and reforms to facilitate labor market adjustments without increasing gender and skill-based inequalities.