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The Impact of Firm-level Covid Rescue Policies on Productivity Growth and Reallocation

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Listed:
  • Jozef Konings

    (Nazarbayev University, Graduate School of Business, KU Leuven and CEPR)

  • Glenn Magerman

    (ECARES, ULB and CEPR)

  • Dieter Van Esbroeck

    (KU Leuven)

Abstract

We analyze the impact of Covid-19 rescue policies on both firm-level and aggregate productivity growth and reallocation. Using administrative data on the universe of firms' subsidies in Flanders, we estimate the causal impact of these subsidies on firm-level outcomes. Firms that received subsidies saw a 7% increase in productivity, compared to firms that applied for, but did not obtain subsidies. Furthermore, the propensity to exit the market was 43% lower for treated firms. Aggregate productivity growth, a share-weighted sum of firms' productivity evolutions, amounted to 6% in 2020. While within-firm productivity growth was similar for both subsidized and non-subsidized firms, there is a reallocation of market shares from subsidized firms to non-subsidized firms. These results suggest that Covid rescue policies helped firms to sustain and preserve productivity, while not obstructing allocative efficiency gains to non-subsidized firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Jozef Konings & Glenn Magerman & Dieter Van Esbroeck, 2022. "The Impact of Firm-level Covid Rescue Policies on Productivity Growth and Reallocation," Working Papers 2022/06, Nazarbayev University, Graduate School of Business.
    • Handle: RePEc:asx:nugsbw:2022-06
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    Cited by:

    1. Lily Davies & Mark Kattenberg & Benedikt Vogt, 2023. "Predicting Firm Exits with Machine Learning: Implications for Selection into COVID-19 Support and Productivity Growth," CPB Discussion Paper 444, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    2. Krieger, Bastian, 2024. "Heterogeneous university funding programs and regional firm innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    3. Ascari, Guido & Colciago, Andrea & Silvestrini, Riccardo, 2023. "Business dynamism, sectoral reallocation and productivity in a pandemic," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. Archanskaia, Elizaveta & Canton, Erik & Hobza, Alexandr & Nikolov, Plamen & Simons, Wouter, 2023. "The asymmetric impact of COVID-19: A novel approach to quantifying financial distress across industries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity; productivity growth; aggregate productivity; allocative efficiency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity

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