Abstract
Public support to start-ups often has the dual ambition of fostering self-employment of disadvantaged individuals while nurturing entrepreneurship. In this paper we evaluate a female and youth start-up program recently implemented in Tuscany (Italy), which provides public guarantees and subsidized interest rates to new firms. Under the assumption of strong ignorability of the assignment mechanism, we use a propensity score matching approach to draw inference on causal effects of the program on firmsâ survival and job creation. Results suggest that public support in this area may have rather ambiguous effects. It helps females and young people escape unemployment or inactivity, and may lead to further job creation. Unfortunately, all this occurs at the price of committing public resources towards entrepreneurial projects that hardly gain efficiency over time.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
