Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Ratio Working Papers,
The Ratio Institute

No 151: The Economic Contribution of High-Growth Firms: Do Definitions Matter?

Sven-Olov Daunfeldt (), Niklas Elert () and Dan Johansson ()
Additional contact information
Sven-Olov Daunfeldt: The Ratio Institute and Dalarna University, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 3203, SE-103 64 Stockholm, Sweden
Niklas Elert: The Ratio Institute, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 3203, SE-103 64 Stockholm, Sweden
Dan Johansson: The Ratio Institute, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 3203, SE-103 64 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: Prior studies have defined high-growth firms (HGFs) in terms of sales or employment, and analyzed their contribution to employment growth. We define HGFs by employment and sales and add definitions of value added and productivity. We examine the contribution of HGFs to employment growth, economic growth, productivity growth, and sales growth. All HGFs give a disproportionately large positive contribution to economic growth and most also give large positive contributions to growth in employment, productivity and sales. Although HGFs of different definitions are usually not the same firms, young firms are more likely to be HGFs irrespective of definition.

Keywords: Gazelles; Firm growth; High-impact firms

JEL-codes: D24; L25; L26

20 pages, May 10, 2010

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