PhD De­fence – Pablo Leão

In order to obtain the PhD degree, Pablo Leãohas submitted his thesis entitled:

How is Inequality a Corporate Matter?

Essays on the Role of Firms in (Re-)Shaping Social Inequalities

Organizations occupy a central position in social and economic life because their decisions can reproduce inequality or alter the conditions that sustain it. Across three chapters, this dissertation asks when firms reinforce unequal outcomes and when organizational conditions create opportunities for redistribution, mobility, and fairer assessments. The first chapter examines the influence of natural resource seeking foreign direct investment on income inequality in developing countries. It finds that such investment increases inequality, but that stronger community structures and greater entrepreneurial opportunity weaken this relationship. The second chapter examines how mergers and acquisitions affect racial wage inequality within firms. Evidence from Brazil shows that acquisitions reduce the wage gap between White and Black employees within target workplaces, primarily by enabling Black workers to move into better paid occupations. The third chapter examines whether Black managerial representation changes how firms evaluate and reward workers’ human capital. It finds narrower racial wage gaps in firms with greater Black managerial representation, especially among highly educated Black employees. Overall, this dissertation shows how investment, restructuring, occupational sorting, representation, and evaluation shape inequality. It contributes to research on organizations, racial inequality, international business, and the role of firms in creating more equitable societies.

The thesis will be available from research.cbs.dk