Cost Network: Comparative Analysis of Enterprise Data: Industry Dynamics, Firm Performance, and Worker Outcomes

The Kiel Institute cooperates in this COST network, the objective of which is to enhance international collaboration on cross-country comparative research using improved data and studying the firm-level sources of economic growth and the consequences of the growth process for workers. The network brings together leading researchers from across Europe to work with national statistical agencies and to collaborate on new comparative research using large firm-level databases. The research exploits these unusual data to analyse the roles of industry dynamics and firm performance in economic growth and the tradeoff between improved performance and social costs for employees. One important subtopic is the measurement of competitive pressures and estimation of their relationship with economic policies and with firm-level productivity. A second concerns the many new insights made possible from recent data that combines firm- and employee-level information. The network addresses the urgent need for comparative research on these topics, which have so far been studied almost exclusively at the national level. Comparing industry dynamics and productivity growth across European economies and some non-European comparators, with their variety of regulations and institutions, promises to shed light on ways in which policies can encourage smooth reallocation and economic growth while minimizing social costs.

Contact: Holger Görg
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