
Shervin Karimi
PhD in Economics
- Rennes, France
- School of Public Health (EHESP)
- Google Scholar
- ORCID
- GitHub
Working Papers
Non-Profit vs. For-Profit Competition and Employment Implications: Evidence from Home Care
This paper provides novel evidence on the effect of competition between non-profit and for-profit organizations on employment. The analysis leverages a unique reform: the removal of entry barriers for for-profit organizations in the home care sector. Using a difference-in-differences empirical strategy, I find that the deregulation has no effect on total private employment in the most populated regions, and a negative effect in sparsely populated regions. For-profit organizations mainly expand in the most populated regions, substituting non-profit employment. Non-profit organizations negatively adjust employment in less populated regions, likely to balance profits at the group level. Investigating mechanisms, I find that for-profits do not exhibit better working conditions or higher product quality. Their success appears to stem from lower group-level cost advantages, driven by concentrated operations in the most profitable markets.
Comparing the Employment Sensitivity of Third Sector and Conventional Organisations over the Business Cycle
This paper analyses, from a comparative perspective, the behaviour of private organisations characterised by distinct ownership structures over the business cycle. In particular, we gauge the sensitivity of third-sector employment (encompassing nonprofits and cooperatives) to macroeconomic fluctuations, relative to that of the conventional sector (comprising for-profit organisations). Drawing on a recently released French dataset covering the period from 2000 to 2019, our analysis reveals that the cyclical sensitivity of the third sector (i.e., social and solidarity economy sector) is systematically lower than that of the conventional sector. This difference is largely driven by the third sector's less cyclical behaviour during downturns. Our findings resist an array of robustness checks and are not affected by strong heterogeneity across types of activities and regional characteristics. Additionally, the cyclicality of the number of establishments is greater in the third sector than in the conventional sector, potentially contributing to the difference in employment sensitivities.
A Non-Profit Discount? Wage Gap Analysis and Monetary Motives of Non-Profit and For-Profit Employees
This paper investigates the hourly wage gap between non-profit and for-profit employees. Leveraging employee mobility in the French labor market, the analysis estimates a two-way fixed effects model with worker and establishment fixed effects. A decomposition of the gap using these fixed effects reveals that the lower wage rates observed for non-profit employees are almost entirely driven by differences in the composition of employees across industries. Within industries, the wage premiums of non-profit and for-profit establishments do not differ on average, although the gap is sensitive to labor market conditions, market structure, and industry type. The paper further examines employees' motivations for switching organizational type, providing event study estimates. Employees moving from non-profit to for-profit organizations experience a sharp increase in earnings, suggesting monetary motives. In contrast, those moving in the opposite direction experience a drop in earnings, primarily among employees who face difficulties finding new jobs, indicating re-employment motives in joining non-profit establishments. These variations in earnings are largely driven by industry transitions and movement along the establishment ladder, suggesting that ownership structure plays a limited role in explaining the observed changes in wages.
Work in Progress (Hospitals and Community Care)
The Visible Hand of Emergency Care
We provide novel evidence on the impact of emergency department gatekeeping on hospitals and patients by leveraging a unique natural experiment: a mandatory triage policy in a French region.
The Impact of Emergency Call Centers: Evidence from France
This paper evaluates the staggered implementation of emergency call centers across French regions and its effects on hospitals and community care providers.
Hospital-at-Home: A Win-Win for Patients, Health Professionals, and Insurers?
Hospital-at-Home has emerged as one of the major innovations in healthcare delivery over the past decade. This paper evaluates, for the first time, the causal impact of Hospital-at-Home on healthcare costs and patient health outcomes.
Access to Care and Avoidable Consultations: The Redistributive Effects of e-Consultations
This paper provides novel evidence on the effects of physician-to-physician e-consultations on access to care and mortality. The analysis exploits the staggered adoption of e-consultations by physicians to evaluate their effects on healthcare providers and patients.
Hospital Cyberattacks and Community Care
Cyberattacks targeting hospitals have surged in recent years. This paper examines their spillover effects on community care providers, neighboring hospitals, and patient mortality.