At 3 to 4 percent a year, the displacement rate for the Slovenian labor force in 1990- 93 was higher than that for the North American labor force during a major recession in the 1980s. But patterns of displacement were similar. Unusually rich administrative data sets covering both firms and workers enabled Orazem, Vodopivec, and Wu to study displacement in Slovenia during 1987 - 93. They describe displacement trends and the characteristics of displaced workers, comparing them to those in North America during a major recession. They analyze the determinants of displacement in the framework of labor turnover, and explore factors associated with postdisplacement wage losses.
Workers try to avoid displacement both by switching to another job and by leaving the labor force.
Before becoming displaced, they also take wage cuts. Both the probability of displacement and the probability of job quits are negatively correlated with tenure. Women are no more likely to be displaced than men, and face smaller postdisplacement wage losses. Non-Slovenians are no more likely to be displaced than Slovenians, and face equal wage losses. Firm characteristics matter.