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The Italian startup act: A microeconometric program evaluation

Author

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  • Biancalani, Francesco
  • Czarnitzki, Dirk
  • Riccaboni, Massimo
Abstract
This paper analyses the impact of the Italian Startup Act which entered into force in December 2012. This public policy provides a unique bundle of benefits, such as tax incentives, public loan guarantees, and a more flexible labor law, for firms registered as "innovative startups" in Italy. This legislation has been implemented by the Italian government to increase innovativeness of small and young enterprises by facilitating improved access to (external) capital and (highskilled) labor. Consequently, the goal of our evaluation is to assess the impact of the policy on equity, debt and employment. Using various conditional difference-in-difference models, we find that the Italian startup policy has met its primary objectives. The econometric results strongly suggest that firms operating under this program are more successful in obtaining equity and debt capital and they also hire more employees because of the program participation.

Suggested Citation

  • Biancalani, Francesco & Czarnitzki, Dirk & Riccaboni, Massimo, 2020. "The Italian startup act: A microeconometric program evaluation," ZEW Discussion Papers 20-006, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:20006
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    Cited by:

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    2. Vera Rocha & Luca Grilli, 2024. "Early-stage start-up hiring: the interplay between start-ups’ initial resources and innovation orientation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 1641-1668, April.
    3. Luca Grilli & Boris Mrkajic & Emanuele Giraudo, 2023. "Industrial policy, innovative entrepreneurship, and the human capital of founders," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(2), pages 707-728, February.
    4. Valentina Pieroni & Nicola Lattanzi & Massimo Riccaboni, 2024. "The dynamic impact of inter-firm network agreements," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 939-969, October.
    5. Corvello, Vincenzo & Felicetti, Alberto Michele & Ammirato, Salvatore & Troise, Ciro & Ključnikov, Aleksandr, 2024. "The rules of courtship: What drives a start-up to collaborate with a large company?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    6. Leonardo Mazzoni & Massimo Riccaboni & Erik Stam, 2024. "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Interregional Flows of Entrepreneurial Talent," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2426, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Aug 2024.
    7. Karolis Matikonis & Matthew Gobey, 2024. "Small Business Property Tax Reductions and Firm Productivity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 307-324, January.
    8. Mueller, Christoph E., 2023. "Startup grants and the development of academic startup projects during funding: Quasi-experimental evidence from the German ‘EXIST – Business startup grant’," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    9. Alex Coad & Sofia Amaral-Garcia & Peter Bauer & Clemens Domnick & Peter Harasztosi & Rozália Pál & Mercedes Teruel, 2023. "Investment expectations by vulnerable European firms in times of COVID," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 193-220, March.
    10. HONJO, Yuji & IWAKI, Yunosuke & KATO, Masatoshi, 2024. "Outside or inside the firm? The impact of debt financing on the exit routes of start-up firms," TDB-CAREE Discussion Paper Series E-2023-02, Teikoku Databank Center for Advanced Empirical Research on Enterprise and Economy, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    start up; innovation policy; firm subsidies; small firms;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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