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Covid-19 pandemic, state aid and firm productivity

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  • Bighelli, Tommaso
  • Lalinsky, Tibor
  • Vanhala, Juuso

Abstract

We study the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on productivity by matching firm performance outcomes with corresponding firm-level information on government support. Our cross-country evidence for five EU countries shows that the pandemic led to a significant short-term decline in productivity predominantly driven by the within-firm growth component. A thorough comparative analysis of the distribution of employment and overall direct subsidies, considering separately also relative firm-level support and the probability of being supported, reveals several common characteristics. In general, the pandemic support was distributed rather efficiently, i.e. towards "deserving" firms and only marginally towards "zombie" and non-viable firms. However, government subsidies appear to have had a limited effect on aggregate productivity developments.

Suggested Citation

  • Bighelli, Tommaso & Lalinsky, Tibor & Vanhala, Juuso, 2022. "Covid-19 pandemic, state aid and firm productivity," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 1/2022, Bank of Finland.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:bofrdp:rdp2022_001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Honda, Tomohito & Hosono, Kaoru & Miyakawa, Daisuke & Ono, Arito & Uesugi, Iichiro, 2023. "Determinants and effects of the use of COVID-19 business support programs in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. Meriküll, Jaanika & Paulus, Alari, 2023. "The impact of the Covid-19 job retention support on employment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    3. Kochaniak, Katarzyna & Ulman, Paweł & Zajkowski, Robert, 2023. "Effectiveness of COVID-19 state aid for microenterprises in Poland," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 483-497.
    4. Yun Gao & Kenichi Ueda, 2024. "Loan Screening When Banks Have Superior Information Technology," CARF F-Series CARF-F-580, Center for Advanced Research in Finance, Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; productivity; firm-level data; government support; employment subsidies; cross-country analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • L29 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Other

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