Restructuring and its implications for business economics

Restructuring has been a major force in the world economy at least since the 1970s. Restructuring includes takeovers, mergers, divestitures, spin-offs, split-ups, financial recapitalizations, and going private transactions. This paper discusses: (1) some overall magnitudes, (2) case studies to illustrate the types of forces operating, (3) some generalizations to place the case studies into a framework, and (4) implications for business economics.