Private Equity, Jobs, and Productivity: Reply to Ayash and Rastad

Private Equity, Jobs, and Productivity: Reply to Ayash and Rastad. Josh Lerner, January 28, 2018, Paper, "Ayash and Rastad (2017) express several concerns about our 2014 analysis of private equitybuyouts. We welcome their interest in our work but think their criticisms are off the mark.Some of their claimsreflect a misunderstanding of the Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Business Database (LBD) and its underlying data inputs. Because the LBD has emerged as a major laboratory for empirical studies in economics and finance, we use this opportunity to reiterate and clarify some of its important features. In a similar spirit, we elaborate on steps taken to develop our large sample of private equity buyouts."