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Firm growth in Europe: an overview based on the CompNet labour module

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  • Fernandez, Cristina
  • García, Roberto
  • Lopez-Garcia, Paloma
  • Marzinotto, Benedicta
  • Serafini, Roberta
  • Vanhala, Juuso
  • Wintr, Ladislav

Abstract

This paper illustrates the main features of the Labour Module of the CompNet dataset which provides indicators of firm growth over the period 1995-2012 across 17 EU (13 euro area) countries and 9 macro-sectors. It also includes information on a large set of micro-aggregated characteristics of firms growing at different speed such as their financial position and labour and total factor productivity. The paper shows that during the Great Recession the share of shrinking firms sharply increased in countries under stress, while firm growth slowed down in non-stressed countries. In the former, the construction sector suffered the most, while in the latter manufacturing and services related to transportation and storage were mainly affected, possibly as a result of the trade collapse. While we find that, all else equal, more productive firms had a higher probability of growing, the process of productivity-enhancing reallocation was muted during the Great Recession. JEL Classification: J23, L11, L25

Suggested Citation

  • Fernandez, Cristina & García, Roberto & Lopez-Garcia, Paloma & Marzinotto, Benedicta & Serafini, Roberta & Vanhala, Juuso & Wintr, Ladislav, 2017. "Firm growth in Europe: an overview based on the CompNet labour module," Working Paper Series 2048, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20172048
    Note: 2648086
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    Cited by:

    1. Eric Bartelsman & Paloma Lopez-Garcia & Giorgio Presidente, 2018. "Cyclical and Stuctural Variation in Resource Reallocation: Evidence for Europe," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-057/VI, Tinbergen Institute.
    2. Bartelsman, Eric & Lopez-Garcia, Paloma & Presidente, Giorgio, 2018. "Cyclical and structural variation in resource allocation: evidence for Europe," Working Paper Series 2210, European Central Bank.
    3. Ferrando, Annalisa & Pal, Rozalia & Durante, Elena, 2019. "Financing and obstacles for high growth enterprises: The European case," EIB Working Papers 2019/03, European Investment Bank (EIB).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cross-country analysis; firm growth; micro-aggregated data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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