The performance of publicly funded startups in Romania

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the Romanian START program, which provides public funds for establishing new firms or further developing existing firms. Using data on two waves of firms that were financed, in 2013 and 2014, which we regard as treated firms, and their corresponding firms that did not receive funding, we apply several methods aimed at revealing the impact of the program, such as matching difference-in-difference and time-varying treatment effects. Our findings show that the requirements of the program shaped the performance of the financed firms, which had higher revenues and productivity and a lower debt ratio. The impact on profit is weak, however, as the enterprises were mostly encouraged to extend their activity.