Essays on Entrepreneurship and Firm Dynamics in Emerging Markets

Download or read book Essays on Entrepreneurship and Firm Dynamics in Emerging Markets written by Emanuele Colonnelli and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation explores three leading frictions to entrepreneurial behavior and firm dynamics in emerging markets, focusing on the context of Brazil. In the first chapter (joint with Mounu Prem), I study the role of corruption in public procurement, and I find that randomized anti-corruption initiatives have positive effects on local economic activity and on the growth of firms who depend on government relationships. In the second chapter (joint with Mounu Prem and Edoardo Teso), I investigate whether and how political considerations distort hiring decisions within public organizations, and I show that patronage practices lead to a misallocation of talent in the public sector. In the third and final chapter (joint with Shai Bernstein, Davide Malacrino, and Tim McQuade), I characterize how local economic shocks affect the composition of entrepreneurs in the economy, finding that young and skilled individuals are the most responsive to investment opportunities in the non-tradable sector, thus playing a key role for aggregate job creation and productivity growth.