COVID-19, Innovative Firms and Resilience
Economic Research Working Paper No. 73
Author: Filippo Belloc
Author: Massimo Del Gatto
Author: Michele Battisti
Publication year: 2023
DOI: English
This paper explores the empirical association between patents and various indicators of firm resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic with worldwide firm-level data from manufacturing industries. The study shows that patent-intensive firms have a reduced probability of exit, in particular if they are larger and if engaging with complementary investments in R&D and other intangibles. Additional estimates show that firm productivity has been an important transmission channel. Taken together, the results presented in the paper offer evidence-based findings pointing to patents as an important potential factor contributing to firm resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policy insights are discussed.