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New firms and labor market entrants: Is there a wage penalty for employment in new firms?

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  • Kristina Nyström
  • Gulzat Elvung

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the role of new firms as an entry point to the labor market. Because the vast majority of new firms are short-lived, it is a risky decision to accept employment in a new venture. It can be argued that individuals with little (or no) labor market experience are more willing to accept the high risks associated with employment in new firms. Hence, new firms may work as an entry point to the labor market. Nevertheless, some research concludes that one disadvantage of employment in a new firm is that new firms pay less (Shane in Small Bus Econ 33:141–149, 2009 ). However, this empirical conclusion is primarily based on literature on the wage penalty of small firms. In this paper, we study whether the wage penalty of employment in a new firm persists if we focus solely on labor market entrants. In the empirical analysis, we employ an employer-employee matched dataset that covers the Swedish population during the period from 1998 to 2008. We use the propensity score matching method to study the wage differences between labor market entrants employed in new and incumbent firms. We find an average wage penalty of 2.9 % for labor market entrants employed in new firms over the studied period. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Kristina Nyström & Gulzat Elvung, 2014. "New firms and labor market entrants: Is there a wage penalty for employment in new firms?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 399-410, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:43:y:2014:i:2:p:399-410
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-014-9552-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Fackler & Michaela Fuchs & Lisa Hölscher & Claus Schnabel, 2019. "Do Start-ups Provide Employment Opportunities for Disadvantaged Workers?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(5), pages 1123-1148, October.
    2. Bellmann, Lisa & Brixy, Udo, 2018. "Hiring by start-ups and regional labor supply," IAB-Discussion Paper 201818, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    3. Knutsson, Polina, 2018. "Sorting on Unobserved Skills into New Firms," Working Papers 2018:38, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    4. Bauermann, Tom, 2020. "Governmental policies to reduce unemployment during recessions: Insights from an ABM," Ruhr Economic Papers 847, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Daniel Fackler & Lisa Hölscher & Claus Schnabel & Antje Weyh, 2022. "Does working at a start-up pay off?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 2211-2233, April.
    6. Tania Babina & Wenting Ma & Christian Moser & Paige Ouimet & Rebecca Zarutskie, 2019. "Pay, Employment, and Dynamics of Young Firms," Working Papers 19-23, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    7. Pankaj C. Patel & Cornelius A. Rietveld, 2023. "Right of association and new business entry: country-level evidence from the market sector," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 1161-1177, October.
    8. Brixy, Udo & Murmann, Martin, 2016. "The growth and human capital structure of new firms over the business cycle," IAB-Discussion Paper 201642, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    9. Kwapisz Agnieszka, 2020. "Minimum Wages and Nascent Entrepreneurship in the US," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(1), pages 1-15, January.
    10. Kristina Nyström, 2021. "Working for an entrepreneur: heaven or hell?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 919-931, February.
    11. Flavio Calvino & Chiara Criscuolo & Carlo Menon, 2018. "A cross-country analysis of start-up employment dynamics," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 27(4), pages 677-698.
    12. Johan Karlsson, 2021. "Firm size and growth barriers: a data-driven approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1319-1338, October.
    13. Benedikt Schröpf, 2023. "The dynamics of wage dispersion between firms: the role of firm entry and exit," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-29, December.
    14. Welter, Friederike & Levering, Britta & May-Strobl, Eva, 2016. "Mittelstandspolitik im Wandel," IfM-Materialien 247, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn.
    15. Dorner, Matthias & Fryges, Helmut & Schopen, Kathrin, 2017. "Wages in high-tech start-ups – Do academic spin-offs pay a wage premium?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 1-18.
    16. Kristina Nyström & Gulzat Zhetibaeva Elvung, 2015. "New Firms as Employers: The Wage Penalty for Voluntary and Involuntary Job Switchers," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(4), pages 348-366, December.
    17. Brixy, Udo & Brunow, Stephan & D'Ambrosio, Anna, 2017. "Ethnic diversity in start-ups and its impact on innovation," IAB-Discussion Paper 201725, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    18. Pawel Adrjan, 2018. "Risky Business? Earnings Prospects of Employees at Young Firms," Economics Series Working Papers 852, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    19. Kristina Nyström, 2020. "Entrepreneurship after displacement," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 475-494, February.
    20. Díaz-Chao, Ángel & Ficapal-Cusí, Pilar & Torrent-Sellens, Joan, 2017. "Did small and medium enterprises maintain better jobs during the early years of the recession? Job quality multidimensional evidence from Spain," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 396-413.
    21. Charlie Karlsson & Peter Warda, 2014. "Entrepreneurship and innovation networks," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 393-398, August.
    22. Seung Hoon D. Chung & Simon C. Parker, 2023. "Founder affiliations: jobseeker reactions and impact on employee recruitment by start-up ventures," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 259-283, June.
    23. Schröpf, Benedikt, 2021. "The dynamics of wage dispersion between firms: The role of firm entry and exit," Discussion Papers 120, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    New firms; Labor market entrants; Wage penalty; Propensity score matching; Average treatment effect; C21; J21; J31; L26; M13;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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