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An international cohort comparison of size effects on job growth

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Listed:
  • Michael Anyadike-Danes
  • Carl-Magnus Bjuggren
  • Sandra Gottschalk
  • Werner Hölzl
  • Dan Johansson
  • Mika Maliranta
  • Anja Myrann

Abstract

The contribution of different-sized businesses to job creation continues to attract policymakers’ attention; however, it has recently been recognised that conclusions about size were confounded with the effect of age. We probe the role of size, controlling for age, by comparing the cohorts of firms born in 1998 over their first decade of life, using variation across half a dozen northern European countries Austria, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK to pin down size effects. We find that a very small proportion of the smallest firms play a crucial role in accounting for cross-country differences in job growth. A closer analysis reveals that the initial size distribution and survival rates do not seem to explain job growth differences between countries, rather it is a small number of rapidly growing firms that are driving this result. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

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  • Michael Anyadike-Danes & Carl-Magnus Bjuggren & Sandra Gottschalk & Werner Hölzl & Dan Johansson & Mika Maliranta & Anja Myrann, 2015. "An international cohort comparison of size effects on job growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 821-844, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:44:y:2015:i:4:p:821-844
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-014-9622-0
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    14. Michael Anyadike-Danes & Mark Hart, 2018. "All grown up? The fate after 15 years of a quarter of a million UK firms born in 1998," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 45-76, January.
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    16. Fornaro, Paolo & Luomaranta, Henri, 2015. "Small Versus Large Firms Employment Patterns in Finland: a Comparison," MPRA Paper 66979, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Fornaro, Paolo & Luomaranta, Henri, 2016. "Job Creation and the Role of Dependencies," MPRA Paper 71586, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    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. Mina, Andrea & Santoleri, Pietro, 2021. "The effect of the Great Recession on the employment growth of young vs. small firms in the Eurozone," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 184-194.
    22. Karlsson, Johan, 2018. "Does regional context matter for family firm employment growth?," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 293-310.
    23. Gaga Loghin & Gabor Andrei & Naaji Antonela & Popescu Marius Constantin, 2016. "Analysis of the Evolution of SMEs in Western Romania Between 2011–2014, Using the Mathematical Modelling," Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series, Sciendo, vol. 26(4), pages 94-107, November.
    24. Marc Cowling & Weixi Liu & Ning Zhang, 2018. "Did firm age, experience, and access to finance count? SME performance after the global financial crisis," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 77-100, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Birth cohort; Firm age; Firm size; Firm survival; Firm growth; Distributed micro-data analysis; L25; L26; E24; M13;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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