The impact of investment funds on restructuring practices and employment levels

One feature of the global economy in recent years has been the increasing number and importance of new investment funds (private equity (PE), hedge funds (HFs), and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs)), which are sometimes referred to as alternative investment funds (AIFs). This increase has paralleled fundamental changes in financial markets and has generated heated debates on the impact of these funds on restructuring practices, employment levels and industrial relations. This report present the results of a project that brought together researchers from several European countries to assess the effects of investment funds on labour outcomes.