Documents Costa, Hélia 2 results

"Soaring energy prices have raised concerns about the risks energy price shocks pose for firms' performance and the green transition. This paper estimates the impacts of energy price changes on firms' productivity as well as their dynamics, distinguishing between the short and medium-to-long term, using historical data. The analysis shows that following an energy price shock, firms adjust down their capacity utilisation, and their productivity declines. The estimates suggest that a 5% increase in energy prices reduces productivity by approximately 0.4% one year later. However, firms may display positive productivity gains in the medium term. Specifically, a shock corresponding to a 10% increase in energy prices is associated with an increase in productivity growth of around 0.9 p.p four years after the shock. These gains are more likely in less energy-intensive sectors, but tend not to materialise for larger shocks. There is some evidence that investment may be the channel behind productivity gains, the latter being larger for firms that had made investments in capital just before the shock."

"This paper analyses employment dynamics across firms during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of job retention schemes (JRS) in shaping these dynamics. It relies on a novel collection of high-frequency harmonised micro-aggregated statistics, computed using administrative data on employment and wages from electronic payroll records across 12 countries linked to monthly information on policy support during COVID-19, as well as on a new indicator of JRS de-jure generosity. The analysis highlights four key findings: i) the employment adjustment margins varied over time, adjusting mainly through the intensive margin in 2020, while both the intensive and the extensive margins contributed to employment changes in 2021; ii) the reallocation process remained productivity enhancing, although to a lower extent on average compared to 2019; iii) JRS were successful in their purpose of cushioning the effect of the crisis on employment growth and firm survival; iv) JRS support did not distort the productivity-enhancing nature of reallocation."