Research Summary
Research Summary
Industry Dynamics in Post-Socialist Economies
Description
Robert E. Kennedy is studying industry dynamics in post-Socialist economies, primarily Poland. His research to date has focused on how structural factors influence industry transitions. In Poland he has found two distinct patterns: rapid transition, driven primarily by turnover in the population of firms; and slow transition, driven primarily by firm-level restructuring and accompanied by low entry rates. Kennedy posits that in Western economies, transformation patterns are well predicted by concentration levels: industries with high concentration levels reformed slowly, those with low concentration levels transformed quickly. His preliminary findings from a comparison of transformation patterns across countries suggest that variation among industries within countries is much greater than variation within industries across countries.