Overcoming trade distortions

This bachelor thesis in political science focuses on the possibility to achieve reforms of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, making the policy less trade distorting. Sociological, Historical and Rational Choice Institutionalism are applied to explain both the persistence and the evolution of the CAP. Persistence is mainly attributed to the decision making level of the CAP in combination with the perception of agriculture as a unique sector that requires state assistance, which makes radical reforms or an abolishment of the policy close to inconceivable. A moderate approach thus appears more realistic. This thesis identifies external pressure from trade negotiations as the primary driver of reform. Modulation, shifting funds to the less trade-distorting Rural Development Pillar, is identified as the primary tool for making successful reforms while still preserving the legitimacy of the CAP. An assessment of the three institutionalisms concludes that they lack the ability to explain the drivers of reform, but are however highly instrumental in explaining inertia as well as the evolution of the tools necessary for reform to be successful

When is Gibrat's Law a Law?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the industry context matters for whether Gibrat's law is rejected or not using a dataset that consists of all limited firms in 5-digit NACE-industries in Sweden during 1998-2004. The results reject Gibrat's law on an aggregate level, since small firms grow faster than large firms. However, Gibrat's law is confirmed about as often as it is rejected when industry-specific regressions are estimated. It is also found that the industry context - e.g., minimum efficient scale, market concentration rate, and number of young firms in the industry - matters for whether Gibrat's law is rejected or not.Firm growth; firm size; job creation; small firms

When is Gibrat's Law a Law?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the industry context matters for whether Gibrat's law is rejected or not using a dataset that consists of all limited firms in 5-digit NACE-industries in Sweden during 1998-2004. The results reject Gibrat's law on an aggregate level, since small firms grow faster than large firms. However, Gibrat's law is confirmed about as often as it is rejected when industry-specific regressions are estimated. It is also found that the industry context - e.g., minimum e¢ cient scale, market concentration rate, and number of young firms in the industry - matters for whether Gibrat's law is rejected or not.Firm growth; firm size; job creation; small firms

The economic contribution of high-growth firms: Do definitions matter?

Prior studies have defined high-growth firms (HGFs) in terms of sales or employment, and analyzed their contribution to employment growth. We define HGFs by employment and sales and add definitions of value added and productivity. We examine the contribution of HGFs to employment growth, economic growth, productivity growth, and sales growth. All HGFs give a disproportionately large positive contribution to economic growth and most also give large positive contributions to growth in employment, productivity and sales. Although HGFs of different definitions are usually not the same firms, young firms are more likely to be HGFs irrespective of definition.Gazelles; Firm growth; High-impact firms

The Economic Contribution of High-Growth Firms: Do Definitions Matter?

Prior studies have defined high-growth firms (HGFs) in terms of sales or employment, and analyzed their contribution to employment growth. We define HGFs by employment and sales and add definitions of value added and productivity. We examine the contribution of HGFs to employment growth, economic growth, productivity growth, and sales growth. All HGFs give a disproportionately large positive contribution to economic growth and most also give large positive contributions to growth in employment, productivity and sales. Although HGFs of different definitions are usually not the same firms, young firms are more likely to be HGFs irrespective of definition.Gazelles; Firm growth; High-impact firms

Institutional Reform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: An Agenda for Europe

entrepreneurship; innovation; Horizon 2020; capital gains; taxation; income; rights; R&D policy; technology; commercialization; financing; investmen

Institutional Reform for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: An Agenda for Europe

entrepreneurship; innovation; Horizon 2020; capital gains; taxation; income; rights; R&D policy; technology; commercialization; financing; investmen

The Entrepreneurial Society

This open access book builds on the European Union’s (EU) Horizon 2020 project ‘Financial and Institutional Reforms for an Entrepreneurial Society’ (FIRES). The authors outline how Europe can move towards more inclusive, innovative and sustainable growth through reforms that will rekindle its entrepreneurial spirit. Based on decades of research and countless discussions with stakeholders, the book also features the FIRES project’s full list of policy interventions and institutional reforms that can help policymakers make that agenda a reality

Does Gibrat’s Law Hold for Retailing? Evidence from Sweden

Gibrat’s Law predicts that firm growth is a purely random effect and therefore should be independent of firm size. The purpose of this paper is to test Gibrat’s law within the retail industry, using a novel data-set comprising all Swedish limited liability companies active at some point between 1998 and 2004. Very few studies have previously investigated whether Gibrat’s Law seems to hold for retailing, and they are based on highly aggregated data. Our results indicate that Gibrat´s Law can be rejected for a large majority of five-digit retail industries in Sweden, since small retail firms tend to grow faster than large ones.firm dynamics; firm size; firm growth; retail