This paper studies three related questions: To what extent otherwise similar startups employ diff... more This paper studies three related questions: To what extent otherwise similar startups employ different quantities and qualities of human capital at the moment of entry? How persistent are initial human capital choices over time? And how does deviating from human capital benchmarks influence firm survival? The analysis is based on a matched employer-employee dataset and covers about 17,500 startups in manufacturing and services. We adopt a new procedure to estimate individual benchmarks for the quantity and quality of initial human resources, acknowledging correlations between hiring decisions, founders' human capital, and the ownership structure of startups (solo entrepreneurs versus entrepreneurial teams). We then study the survival implications of exogenous deviations from these benchmarks, based on spline models for survival data. Our results indicate that (especially negative) deviations from the benchmark can be substantial, are persistent over time, and hinder the survival...
While recent work has documented a nexus between international trade and firm innovation, the und... more While recent work has documented a nexus between international trade and firm innovation, the underlying mechanisms explaining _rms' innovation in response to import competition are thus far poorly understood. To identify such mechanisms and their economic relevance, we use longitudinal linked employer-employee data from Denmark (1995-2012) and conduct analyses at both the firm and worker levels. We first show that import competition triggers a significant increase in innovation. Approximately 40 percent of the innovation effect is attributable to the increase in the share of RD 14 percent of this increase in the share of R&D workers is due to within-firm worker switching to R&D jobs, while 80 percent is explained by between-firm worker reallocation. Furthermore, we show that having a larger degree of between-firm worker reallocation to R&D jobs relative to within-firm switching is associated with more innovation. The salience of between-firm reallocation is further confirmed by...
This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal... more This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We identify the transition of over 200,000 nascent business-owners and follow their survival patterns in the respective businesses using discrete time competing risks models. Different profiles of new business-owners are identified, taking into account their entry routes and how such entry choices impact on their persistence in the firm. Exits by dissolution are distinguished from exits by ownership transfer. We also analyze how previous labor market experiences and macroeconomic environment shape the individuals' decision to become and persist as business-owners. Controlling for a set of individual and previous job characteristics, we found that those experiencing a recent displacement are more likely to become entrepreneurs and to persist longer in the business. Concerning macroeconomic conditions, nascent entrepreneurs entering via start-up ente...
ABSTRACT Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies ad... more ABSTRACT Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies addressing these themes during downturns are relatively scarce. This chapter discusses the effects of crisis on firms’ employment growth and survival, documenting significant heterogeneity in firm vulnerability and adjustment behaviour. Based on our previous research using longitudinal firm-level data for the period 1988-2007, it explores how and if, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in particular may play a role as stabilizing agents during downturns. Additionally, it discusses the differentiated effects of two distinct crises. Lessons may be relevant for understanding the impact of the current global crisis.
The availability of employment is a central determinant for addressing the refugee crisis in many... more The availability of employment is a central determinant for addressing the refugee crisis in many host countries. Extant management research largely assumes that hiring refugees is part of firms’ s...
We posit that the decisions to enter and persist into self-employed, are shaped by and intertwine... more We posit that the decisions to enter and persist into self-employed, are shaped by and intertwined with the decision to become parent. By considering how motherhood and fatherhood influence the par...
A Global Perspective on Private Higher Education, 2016
In recent decades, we have seen the emergence of private higher education in many European countr... more In recent decades, we have seen the emergence of private higher education in many European countries. This has been associated with the waves of significant expansion of the higher education system and with changes in regulation patterns, which have promoted a growing private-like behavior of public higher education institutions and the development of private provision in several European countries. The aim of this text is to discuss the relevance of the various dimensions of privatization in European higher education and to explore the relationship between public and private sectors in several European countries. This analysis points out some major patterns of the private higher education sector in Europe and reflects about the major issues faced by those systems regarding the potential contribution of private higher education.
Although the term “human capital” has remote historical roots, being already widespread in the wr... more Although the term “human capital” has remote historical roots, being already widespread in the writings of the founding fathers of economic analysis, it was during the second half of the twentieth century that an increasing debate around human capital emerged among scholars. The increasing relevance of human capital for economic growth was also associated with the role of technology and its impact in enhancing the demand for more and better qualified workers. However, the capacity of societies to take advantage of those investments has been found to be more complex and uncertain than it was initially portrayed. A more recent line of research started recognizing the potential role of human capital also at the regional level. In this chapter we aim at understanding the role of human capital on regional convergence for Southern Europe countries, with particular emphasis in recent empirical studies. We discuss the role of human capital in the framework of growth convergence theories and the issue of human capital migration as a potential factor influencing regional disparities in Europe. Then we focus on an important component of human capital formation—the role of higher education institutions at the regional level and we review the empirical findings on these issues in the context of Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain). Finally we provide a brief exploratory analysis of the potential association between the education of the population and the GDP per capita at the regional-level for those four countries.
This paper studies three related questions: To what extent otherwise similar startups employ diff... more This paper studies three related questions: To what extent otherwise similar startups employ different quantities and qualities of human capital at the moment of entry? How persistent are initial human capital choices over time? And how does deviating from human capital benchmarks influence firm survival? The analysis is based on a matched employer-employee dataset and covers about 17,500 startups in manufacturing and services. We adopt a new procedure to estimate individual benchmarks for the quantity and quality of initial human resources, acknowledging correlations between hiring decisions, founders' human capital, and the ownership structure of startups (solo entrepreneurs versus entrepreneurial teams). We then study the survival implications of exogenous deviations from these benchmarks, based on spline models for survival data. Our results indicate that (especially negative) deviations from the benchmark can be substantial, are persistent over time, and hinder the survival...
While recent work has documented a nexus between international trade and firm innovation, the und... more While recent work has documented a nexus between international trade and firm innovation, the underlying mechanisms explaining _rms' innovation in response to import competition are thus far poorly understood. To identify such mechanisms and their economic relevance, we use longitudinal linked employer-employee data from Denmark (1995-2012) and conduct analyses at both the firm and worker levels. We first show that import competition triggers a significant increase in innovation. Approximately 40 percent of the innovation effect is attributable to the increase in the share of RD 14 percent of this increase in the share of R&D workers is due to within-firm worker switching to R&D jobs, while 80 percent is explained by between-firm worker reallocation. Furthermore, we show that having a larger degree of between-firm worker reallocation to R&D jobs relative to within-firm switching is associated with more innovation. The salience of between-firm reallocation is further confirmed by...
This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal... more This paper conducts a comprehensive study on entrepreneurship dynamics using a large longitudinal matched employer-employee dataset. We identify the transition of over 200,000 nascent business-owners and follow their survival patterns in the respective businesses using discrete time competing risks models. Different profiles of new business-owners are identified, taking into account their entry routes and how such entry choices impact on their persistence in the firm. Exits by dissolution are distinguished from exits by ownership transfer. We also analyze how previous labor market experiences and macroeconomic environment shape the individuals' decision to become and persist as business-owners. Controlling for a set of individual and previous job characteristics, we found that those experiencing a recent displacement are more likely to become entrepreneurs and to persist longer in the business. Concerning macroeconomic conditions, nascent entrepreneurs entering via start-up ente...
ABSTRACT Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies ad... more ABSTRACT Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies addressing these themes during downturns are relatively scarce. This chapter discusses the effects of crisis on firms’ employment growth and survival, documenting significant heterogeneity in firm vulnerability and adjustment behaviour. Based on our previous research using longitudinal firm-level data for the period 1988-2007, it explores how and if, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in particular may play a role as stabilizing agents during downturns. Additionally, it discusses the differentiated effects of two distinct crises. Lessons may be relevant for understanding the impact of the current global crisis.
The availability of employment is a central determinant for addressing the refugee crisis in many... more The availability of employment is a central determinant for addressing the refugee crisis in many host countries. Extant management research largely assumes that hiring refugees is part of firms’ s...
We posit that the decisions to enter and persist into self-employed, are shaped by and intertwine... more We posit that the decisions to enter and persist into self-employed, are shaped by and intertwined with the decision to become parent. By considering how motherhood and fatherhood influence the par...
A Global Perspective on Private Higher Education, 2016
In recent decades, we have seen the emergence of private higher education in many European countr... more In recent decades, we have seen the emergence of private higher education in many European countries. This has been associated with the waves of significant expansion of the higher education system and with changes in regulation patterns, which have promoted a growing private-like behavior of public higher education institutions and the development of private provision in several European countries. The aim of this text is to discuss the relevance of the various dimensions of privatization in European higher education and to explore the relationship between public and private sectors in several European countries. This analysis points out some major patterns of the private higher education sector in Europe and reflects about the major issues faced by those systems regarding the potential contribution of private higher education.
Although the term “human capital” has remote historical roots, being already widespread in the wr... more Although the term “human capital” has remote historical roots, being already widespread in the writings of the founding fathers of economic analysis, it was during the second half of the twentieth century that an increasing debate around human capital emerged among scholars. The increasing relevance of human capital for economic growth was also associated with the role of technology and its impact in enhancing the demand for more and better qualified workers. However, the capacity of societies to take advantage of those investments has been found to be more complex and uncertain than it was initially portrayed. A more recent line of research started recognizing the potential role of human capital also at the regional level. In this chapter we aim at understanding the role of human capital on regional convergence for Southern Europe countries, with particular emphasis in recent empirical studies. We discuss the role of human capital in the framework of growth convergence theories and the issue of human capital migration as a potential factor influencing regional disparities in Europe. Then we focus on an important component of human capital formation—the role of higher education institutions at the regional level and we review the empirical findings on these issues in the context of Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain). Finally we provide a brief exploratory analysis of the potential association between the education of the population and the GDP per capita at the regional-level for those four countries.
In: Baptista, R., Leitão, J. (Eds.), Entrepreneurship, Human Capital and Regional Development – Labor Networks, Knowledge Flows, and Industry Growth. International Studies in Entrepreneurship, vol. 31. Springer., Feb 2015
Although previous research shows that spin-offs are among the most successful firms in an industr... more Although previous research shows that spin-offs are among the most successful firms in an industry, outperforming de novo entrants, few studies consider the heterogeneity of corporate spin-offs in relation to firm performance or survival. Against this backdrop, the objective of the present chapter is twofold. First, this study aims to add to our knowledge on the relationship between spin-off type and firm survival using a comprehensive matched employer-employee dataset from Portugal. After controlling for their different start-up conditions - namely regarding initial hiring schemes, business-owners’ characteristics, and the industrial and geographical relatedness to the parent firm - and a set of firm, industry, and macroeconomic characteristics, we found no significant survival differences between opportunity and necessity spin-offs. Second, based on the findings, we suggest that necessity spin-offs have not received the attention they deserve. Not only do necessity spin-offs perform an important role in the dynamics of competitive markets, by offering a possible solution for recently displaced individuals, but they also create new jobs and help to prevent the depreciation of workers’ human capital.
Innovation, Globalization and Firm Dynamics Lessons for Enterprise Policy, 2014
Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies addressing ... more Despite a substantial literature has investigated firms’ growth and survival, studies addressing these themes during downturns are relatively scarce. This chapter discusses the effects of crisis on firms’ employment growth and survival, documenting significant heterogeneity in firm vulnerability and adjustment behaviour. Based on our previous research using longitudinal firm-level data for the period 1988-2007, it explores how and if, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in particular may play a role as stabilizing agents during downturns. Additionally, it discusses the differentiated effects of two distinct crises. Lessons may be relevant for understanding the impact of the current global crisis.
By combining insights from the widespread research on entrepreneurial spin-offs and from the emer... more By combining insights from the widespread research on entrepreneurial spin-offs and from the emerging literature on hiring choices in startups, we investigate the role of coworker mobility in pushed and pulled spin-off survival. Using rich matched employer-employee data and a multi-stage model addressing the issues of self-selection in entrepreneurship and endogeneity in recruitment choices, we cover about 28,300 spin-offs launched between 1992 and 2007. Our results show that spin-offs hiring coworkers from the parent firm survive longer. This survival bonus is higher in pushed-driven startups. We investigate two different mechanisms through which coworker mobility may improve spin-off survival – knowledge transfer and reduced searching costs – and find that both mechanisms play a role in explaining the survival bonus in pulled spin-offs. In pushed spin-offs, coworker mobility seems to largely help them surviving by reducing initial recruitment costs. This work provides novel insights on the role of context surrounding new venture creation and inter-firm labor mobility. Theoretical and practical implications of the major findings are discussed.
The founder (team)’s human capital is a vital determinant of future firm performance. This is a s... more The founder (team)’s human capital is a vital determinant of future firm performance. This is a stylized fact. Less is known about the effect of the human capital of the initial workforce hired by the founder(s). We study the performance consequences of a founder’s choice of the initial workforce’s human capital (quantity and quality), besides the human capital of the founder(s). The analysis is based on matched employer-employee data and covers about 5,300 startups in manufacturing industries founded by individuals coming from employment between 1992 and 2007. We acknowledge that initial hiring decisions are endogenous and correlated with the human capital of the founders and the ownership structure of startups (single founder versus team of founders). Given the stickiness of initial choices, human capital decisions at entry turn out to be a close to irreversible matter with significant implications for post-entry survival and growth of the firm.
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Papers by Vera Rocha