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The seminar is part of the activities of FIW, the Centre of Competence in International Economics.
Series Details
Venue: wiiw, Rahlgasse 3, 1060 Vienna, lecture hall (entrance from the ground floor)
Monday, 14 May 2012, 4:00 pm
What impact has the Great Recession had on European firms? In 2008 and 2009, the European Union experienced a 14 percent decline in industrial production, and a 15 percent decline in trade. Companies were hit hard, going through an average 10 percent sales decline, and reducing their workforces by 6 percent. But the unique firm-level dataset compiled from the EFIGE survey shows that not all firms were affected in the same way. Exporters contracted more than non-exporters, while importers, and those that outsource some of their production or have an affiliate suffered less of a decline. These findings raise an important policy trade-off. While export-oriented strategies might improve competitiveness, they also bring about a greater exposure to foreign crises. However, outsourcing to other countries has distinct stabilisation benefits. Dominant firms centrally placed in the technology, trade and ownership network, fared better, but firms relying on external finance, and experiencing financial constraints to growth, experienced greater sales declines.
FIW-wiiw-Seminar in International Economics
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FIW-wiiw-Seminar in International Economics
Regular lecture series on current issues in international economics.The seminar is part of the activities of FIW, the Centre of Competence in International Economics.
Series Details
László Halpern (Research Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences) and Gábor Békés (Central European University, Budapest)
Still standing: how European firms weathered the crisis
Still standing: how European firms weathered the crisis
Venue: wiiw, Rahlgasse 3, 1060 Vienna, lecture hall (entrance from the ground floor)
Monday, 14 May 2012, 4:00 pm
What impact has the Great Recession had on European firms? In 2008 and 2009, the European Union experienced a 14 percent decline in industrial production, and a 15 percent decline in trade. Companies were hit hard, going through an average 10 percent sales decline, and reducing their workforces by 6 percent. But the unique firm-level dataset compiled from the EFIGE survey shows that not all firms were affected in the same way. Exporters contracted more than non-exporters, while importers, and those that outsource some of their production or have an affiliate suffered less of a decline. These findings raise an important policy trade-off. While export-oriented strategies might improve competitiveness, they also bring about a greater exposure to foreign crises. However, outsourcing to other countries has distinct stabilisation benefits. Dominant firms centrally placed in the technology, trade and ownership network, fared better, but firms relying on external finance, and experiencing financial constraints to growth, experienced greater sales declines.
