Does Political Affiliation Matter On Post-Parliamentary Careers In The Boards Of Public Enterprises?

Research on post-parliamentary careers has so far neglected the effect of political affiliation on the appointment of ex-members of Parliament to public firms boards of director. This article intends to fill this gap by conducting an empirical analysis on a sample of 1,419 deputies of Italian Parliament elected over the period 1994-2001. The regression discontinuity estimates show that the probability of being appointed to the board of public enterprises of center-left ex-deputies is about 15 percentage points higher than that of center-right ex-deputies. This result brings to light the politicization of Italian public firms, put in place through the appointment of ex-deputies in managerial positions.