Cross-country Evidence on the Allocation of COVID-19 Government Subsidies and Consequences for Productivity
Tommaso Bighelli, Tibor Lalinsky, Juuso Vanhala
Journal of the Japanese and International Economies,
June
2023
Abstract
We study the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and related policy support on productivity. We employ an extensive micro-distributed exercise to access otherwise unavailable individual data on firm performance and government subsidies. Our cross-country evidence for five EU countries shows that the pandemic led to a significant short-term decline in aggregate productivity and the direct support to firms had only a limited positive effect on productivity developments. A thorough comparative analysis of the distribution of employment and overall direct subsidies, considering separately also relative firm-level size of support and the probability of being supported, reveals ambiguous cross-country results related to the firm-level productivity and points to the decisive role of other firm characteristics.
Artikel Lesen
08.06.2023 • 15/2023
IWH-Insolvenztrend: Zahl der Firmenpleiten stabil, vor allem junge Unternehmen betroffen
Wie vom Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) prognostiziert, ist die Zahl der Insolvenzen von Personen- und Kapitalgesellschaften im Mai nicht weiter angestiegen. Zwei Drittel der insolventen Unternehmen waren höchstens zehn Jahre alt.
Steffen Müller
Pressemitteilung lesen
09.05.2023 • 13/2023
IWH-Insolvenztrend: Zahl der Firmenpleiten unverändert, erneut zahlreiche Arbeitsplätze betroffen
Die Zahl der Insolvenzen von Personen- und Kapitalgesellschaften ist im April nicht weiter gestiegen, zeigt die aktuelle Analyse des Leibniz-Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH). Allerdings waren erneut überdurchschnittlich viele Arbeitsplätze betroffen.
Steffen Müller
Pressemitteilung lesen
Minimum Wages, Productivity, and Reallocation
Mirja Hälbig, Matthias Mertens, Steffen Müller
IZA Discussion Paper,
Nr. 16160,
2023
Abstract
We study the productivity effect of the German national minimum wage by applying administrative firm data. At the firm level, we confirm positive effects on wages and negative employment effects and document higher productivity even net of output price increases. We find higher wages but no employment effects at the level of aggregate industry × region cells. The minimum wage increased aggregate productivity in manufacturing. We do not find that employment reallocation across firms contributed to these aggregate productivity gains, nor do we find improvements in allocative efficiency. Instead, the productivity gains from the minimum wage result from within-firm productivity improvements only.
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Arbeiten am IWH
Stellenangebote des IWH Das Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung Halle (IWH) wurde 1992 gegründet. Zu seinen Aufgaben gehören die wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Forschung...
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Europas populistische Parteien im Aufwind
Europas populistische Parteien im Aufwind: die dunkle Seite von Globalisierung und technologischem Wandel? ...
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Minimum Wages, Productivity, and Reallocation
Mirja Hälbig, Matthias Mertens, Steffen Müller
IWH Discussion Papers,
Nr. 8,
2023
Abstract
We study the productivity effect of the German national minimum wage by applying administrative firm data. At the firm level, we confirm positive effects on wages and negative employment effects and document higher productivity even net of output price increases. We find higher wages but no employment effects at the level of aggregate industry × region cells. The minimum wage increased aggregate productivity in manufacturing. We do not find that employment reallocation across firms contributed to these aggregate productivity gains, nor do we find improvements in allocative efficiency. Instead, the productivity gains from the minimum wage result from within-firm productivity improvements only.
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European Firm Concentration and Aggregate Productivity
Tommaso Bighelli, Filippo di Mauro, Marc Melitz, Matthias Mertens
Journal of the European Economic Association,
Nr. 2,
2023
Abstract
This paper derives a European Herfindahl–Hirschman concentration index from 15 micro-aggregated country datasets. In the last decade, European concentration rose due to a reallocation of economic activity toward large and concentrated industries. Over the same period, productivity gains from an increasing allocative efficiency of the European market accounted for 50% of European productivity growth while markups stayed constant. Using country-industry variation, we show that changes in concentration are positively associated with changes in productivity and allocative efficiency. This holds across most sectors and countries and supports the notion that rising concentration in Europe reflects a more efficient market environment rather than weak competition and rising market power.
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IWH-Insolvenztrend für März: Zahl der Firmenpleiten erreicht neuen Rekord Deutlich schneller als die amtliche Statistik...
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