Entry-rates, the share of surviving business and employment growth

Abstract

"Entry-Rates, survival-rates and growth-rates vary considerably between regions. The aim of our paper is firstly to point out these differences in Germany as a whole. It will be shown how these three parameters work together. Are there regions in which all three are favourable for newly founded firms? This is because a convenient environment for the founding of new firms should be equally favourable for the further development of these firms. With a database that covers all newly founded establishments since 1983 (West-Germany) resp. 1992 (East-Germany), cohorts of each year can be analysed until the year 2000. In a second step we will analyse east - west differences since the unification. Newly founded firms are of outstanding importance for the development of the market economy in eastern Germany. The transition of the economic system came as a shock to existing firms and led to an enormous boom in the establishment of new firms. Brixy & Kohaut (1999) showed that shortly after unification a kind of 'start-window' existed during which the conditions for establishment, growth and survival of new firms were extraordinarily good. Now 12 years after the unification it can be shown, that founding-rates, growth-rates and survival-rates in both parts of Germany came into line. But there are sizeable regional differences in both parts. A in-depths comparison gives the possibility to compare the performance of special types of business over time and space in different cohorts. This should lead to a better understanding of the regional problems faced by regional economies.'" (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Brixy, U. & Grotz, R. (2003): Entry-rates, the share of surviving business and employment growth. Differences between western and eastern Germany since re-unification. In: M. Dowling, J. Schmude & D. zu Knyphausen-Aufsess (Hrsg.) (2003): Advances in interdisciplinary European entrepreneurship research (Gründungsforschung, 03), p. 141-152.