Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
HUI Working Papers,
HUI Research
No 65: A cautionary note on using the Eurostat-OECD definition of high-growth firms
Sven-Olov Daunfeldt (), Daniel Halvarsson and Dan Johansson
Additional contact information
Sven-Olov Daunfeldt: HUI Research, Postal: Regeringsgatan 60, 103 29 Stockholm, Sweden, Department of Economics, Dalarna University, SE-781 70 Borlänge, Sweden.
Daniel Halvarsson: The Ratio Institute, Postal: P.O. Box 3203 , SE-103 64, Stockholm , Sweden
Dan Johansson: HUI Research, Postal: Regeringsgatan 60, 103 29 Stockholm, Sweden, Department of Economics, Dalarna University, SE-781 70 Borlänge, Sweden.
Abstract: Recent studies have suggested that most firms do not grow, and that a small number of high-growth firms create most new jobs. High-growth firms have therefore attracted an increasing amount of attention from researchers and policymakers. However, there is no uniform definition of what constitutes a high-growth firm in the literature. Eurostat and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently recommended that high-growth firms should be defined as firms with at least ten employees in the start-year and annualized employment (or sales) growth exceeding 20% during a 3-year period. This definition would exclude almost 95% of surviving firms in Sweden and about 40% of new private jobs during 2005-2008. We therefore advise caution in using this definition.
Keywords: High-growth firms; high-impact firms; gazelles; OECD definition
10 pages, April 19, 2012
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