We examine heterogeneous productivity effects of hiring top workers on small and medium-sized enterprises, using longitudinal employer-employee data. We find the productivity effect to be stronger for firms with higher absorptive capacity in terms of having a well-educated workforce, being in a...

We present a theoretical and empirical analysis of the links between the gender of an entrepreneur, access to finance, occupational choice, and business performance. Our theoretical model predicts that, when lenders discriminate against women entrepreneurs, the average entrepreneurial skill of...

Scientists and engineers in small firms are far more likely than their large firm counterparts to enter entrepreneurship, a phenomenon we label the small firm effect. We explore the origins of this small firm effect, identify four classes of explanations - preference sorting, ability sorting,...

While an increasing number of conceptual studies postulate that vocational education and training (VET) activities have a positive impact on firm-level innovation, empirical evidence on the subject remains scarce. This study exploits establishment data from a representative survey of German...

While an increasing number of conceptual studies postulate that vocational education and training (VET) activities have a positive impact on the innovative capacity of training companies, empirical evidence on the subject remains scarce. This study exploits establishment data from a...