@techreport{f6d6d23f85ab4b53ab37d78b6b32b7c1,
title = "European funds and firm performance: Evidence from a natural experiment",
abstract = "Expanding regional eligibility in the access to grants can have important consequences for the performance of firms. We examine a quasi-natural experiment that consisted of an administrative redistricting intended to increase accessibility to European Union (EU) funds using a rich administrative dataset that covers the universe of Portuguese private firms between 2003 and 2010. Our results uncover a positive causal impact of increased eligibility on firms' sales. In contrast, employment and labour productivity do not seem significantly impacted by the reform. The effects are heterogeneous: while sales of firms in the services and non-tradable sectors are positively impacted, sales of firms in more competitive sectors are not affected.",
keywords = "Grants, Regional policy, Private firm, Municipalities, Portugal",
author = "Jos{\'e} Mesquita and {Pereira dos Santos}, Jo{\~a}o and Jos{\'e} Tavares",
year = "2022",
month = aug,
language = "English",
series = " Ruhr Economic Papers",
publisher = "RWI – Leibniz-Institut f{\"u}r Wirtschaftsforschung",
number = "966",
type = "WorkingPaper",
institution = "RWI – Leibniz-Institut f{\"u}r Wirtschaftsforschung",
}