A First Year’s Impact of the Pandemic on the Czech Entrepreneurial Activity

Every crisis affects entrepreneurial activity; for some entrepreneurs, it is an opportunity for a new start; others are forced to shut down their businesses. This study aimed to analyze the effect of the global coronavirus (so-called COVID-19) pandemic on Czech entrepreneurial activity. The article...

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Main Author: Ondřej Dvouletý
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Research University Higher School of Economics 2021-12-01
Series:Foresight and STI Governance
Subjects:
Online Access:https://foresight-journal.hse.ru/article/view/19128
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author Ondřej Dvouletý
author_facet Ondřej Dvouletý
author_sort Ondřej Dvouletý
collection DOAJ
description Every crisis affects entrepreneurial activity; for some entrepreneurs, it is an opportunity for a new start; others are forced to shut down their businesses. This study aimed to analyze the effect of the global coronavirus (so-called COVID-19) pandemic on Czech entrepreneurial activity. The article exploits the administrative data covering business demographics of seventy-seven Local Administrative Units (LAU1) regions over the years 2008-2020. Data were obtained from the Czech Statistical Office. The study provides insights into the short term effects of the pandemic, i.e. one year after. The results from the panel regression models and placebo tests comparing forecasted values of new businesses registrations and closures with actual values obtained after the end of 2020 do not show that there would be a significant drop in the Czech entrepreneurial activity. On the opposite, the data indicate that the Czech entrepreneurial activity grew and even increased compared with 2019. However, the obtained results need to be interpreted with caution, as many factors influenced Czech businesses’ development. Specifically, we mention the past economic growth, the introduction of public entrepreneurship and SME policy instruments and financial back-ups of the business owners. There are several implications of the conducted research. For instance, there is a need to observe the long-term effects of the pandemic on business demography and its structure. We propose to study changes in bankruptcy rates in the most harmed sectors such as tourism, hospitality, culture or sport and compare them with sectors that could easier transfer their business activities online.
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spelling doaj-art-a78109e12e7e4c8e88497394ae1f2f102025-08-20T02:08:44ZengNational Research University Higher School of EconomicsForesight and STI Governance2500-25972021-12-0115410.17323/2500-2597.2021.4.52.60A First Year’s Impact of the Pandemic on the Czech Entrepreneurial ActivityOndřej Dvouletý0Prague University of Economics and Business, W. Churchill Sq. 4, 130 67 Prague 3, the Czech Republic Every crisis affects entrepreneurial activity; for some entrepreneurs, it is an opportunity for a new start; others are forced to shut down their businesses. This study aimed to analyze the effect of the global coronavirus (so-called COVID-19) pandemic on Czech entrepreneurial activity. The article exploits the administrative data covering business demographics of seventy-seven Local Administrative Units (LAU1) regions over the years 2008-2020. Data were obtained from the Czech Statistical Office. The study provides insights into the short term effects of the pandemic, i.e. one year after. The results from the panel regression models and placebo tests comparing forecasted values of new businesses registrations and closures with actual values obtained after the end of 2020 do not show that there would be a significant drop in the Czech entrepreneurial activity. On the opposite, the data indicate that the Czech entrepreneurial activity grew and even increased compared with 2019. However, the obtained results need to be interpreted with caution, as many factors influenced Czech businesses’ development. Specifically, we mention the past economic growth, the introduction of public entrepreneurship and SME policy instruments and financial back-ups of the business owners. There are several implications of the conducted research. For instance, there is a need to observe the long-term effects of the pandemic on business demography and its structure. We propose to study changes in bankruptcy rates in the most harmed sectors such as tourism, hospitality, culture or sport and compare them with sectors that could easier transfer their business activities online. https://foresight-journal.hse.ru/article/view/19128forecastingcrisisentrepreneurial activityCOVID-19business demographicsglobal pandemic
spellingShingle Ondřej Dvouletý
A First Year’s Impact of the Pandemic on the Czech Entrepreneurial Activity
Foresight and STI Governance
forecasting
crisis
entrepreneurial activity
COVID-19
business demographics
global pandemic
title A First Year’s Impact of the Pandemic on the Czech Entrepreneurial Activity
title_full A First Year’s Impact of the Pandemic on the Czech Entrepreneurial Activity
title_fullStr A First Year’s Impact of the Pandemic on the Czech Entrepreneurial Activity
title_full_unstemmed A First Year’s Impact of the Pandemic on the Czech Entrepreneurial Activity
title_short A First Year’s Impact of the Pandemic on the Czech Entrepreneurial Activity
title_sort first year s impact of the pandemic on the czech entrepreneurial activity
topic forecasting
crisis
entrepreneurial activity
COVID-19
business demographics
global pandemic
url https://foresight-journal.hse.ru/article/view/19128
work_keys_str_mv AT ondrejdvoulety afirstyearsimpactofthepandemicontheczechentrepreneurialactivity
AT ondrejdvoulety firstyearsimpactofthepandemicontheczechentrepreneurialactivity