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The growth and human capital structure of new firms over the business cycle

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  • Brixy, Udo

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany ; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

  • Murmann, Martin

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany ; Univ. Zürich ; ZEW Mannheim)

Abstract

"Recent research suggests that employment in young firms is more negatively impacted during economic downturns than employment in incumbent firms. This questions the effectiveness of policies that promote entrepreneurship to fight crises. We complement prior research that is mostly based on aggregate data by analyzing cyclical effects at the firm level. Using new linked employer-employee data on German start-ups we show that under constant human capital of the firms' founders, employment growth in less than 11/2-yearold start-ups reacts countercyclically and employment growth in older start-ups reacts procyclically. The young start-ups realize their countercyclical growth by hiring qualified labor market entrants who might be unable to find employment in incumbent firms during crises. This mechanism is highly important in economic and management terms and has not been revealed by prior research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • 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].
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201642
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    Cited by:

    1. 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].
    2. Kruppe, Thomas & Trepesch, Merlind, 2017. "Weiterbildungsbeteiligung in Deutschland : Auswertungen mit den Daten der Erwachsenenbefragung des Nationalen Bildungspanels "Bildung im Erwachsenenalter und lebenslanges Lernen"," IAB-Discussion Paper 201716, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    3. Müller, Bettina & Murmann, Martin, 2016. "The workforce composition of young firms and product innovation: Complementarities in the skills of founders and their early employees," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-074, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; Berufsanfänger ; Beschäftigtenstruktur ; Humankapital ; IAB-Linked-Employer-Employee-Datensatz ; Konjunkturzyklus ; Mitarbeiter ; Personaleinstellung ; Rezession ; Unternehmensentwicklung ; Unternehmenserfolg ; Unternehmensgröße ; Unternehmensgründung ; Wirtschaftsförderung ; 2007-2013;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • 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
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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