In this paper we investigate whether a relaxation in seniority rules (the "last-in-first-out"-principle) had any effect on firms' employment behaviour. Seniority rules exist in several countries and, like Sweden, most European countries have a more lenient employment protection for firms below a...

This paper analyses the causal effects of weaker dismissal protection on the incidence of long-term sickness ( six weeks). We exploit a German policy change, which shifted the threshold exempting small establishments from dismissal protection from five to ten workers. Using administrative data,...

This paper analyses the causal effects of weaker dismissal protection on the incidence of long-term sickness ( six weeks). We exploit a German policy change, which shifted the threshold exempting small establishments from dismissal protection from five to ten workers. Using administrative data,...

Using survey data on Bulgarian and Macedonian firms that participated in USAID programs providing technical and financial assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and on firms that did not, we estimate the effectiveness of such assistance in increasing the growth of employment in...

This paper analyses the differentials of productive values in Vietnamese micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and how market constraints have hindered their performance. Quantitative analyses suggest substantial differences in value addition among manufacturing MSMEs, and the crucial...

Die Mittelstandshypothese besagt, dass kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) im Verhält-nis zur bereits bestehenden Beschäftigung einen relativ höheren Beitrag zur Schaffung neuer sozialversicherungspflichtiger Arbeitsplätze leisten als Großunternehmen. Die Ergebnisse der Analyse von...

Die Studie zeigt, dass sich insbesondere kapitalintensiv gefertigte Produkte, deren Fertigung mit hohen Skaleneffekten verbunden ist, für den Außenhandel eignen. Entsprechend treten vor allem Unternehmen aus dem Produzierenden Gewerbe und dem distributiven Sektor als Exporteure auf. Die...

This study empirically investigated the factors affecting firms' ability to adjust production in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This study used firm-level survey data from the Enterprise Survey implemented by the World Bank Group, including a standard Enterprise Survey (Baseline) and two...

The ability to attract and retain the talents is an important factor in the competitiveness of countries, as it is confirmed in our study. At the level of small and medium-sized enterprises, hiring and retaining skilled workers is one of the most difficult tasks of HR management, especially in...

Since the first quarter of 2020, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries have faced significant hardship due to the economic shocks related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions arise, however, regarding the extent to which MSMEs' hardship has varied between...