It is easy to become dispirited. Despite my concern about the near-term outlook, advising business leaders requires that I look past the pandemic. Akcigit and Ates argue that greater concentration among firms and a slowdown in business dynamism is the cause of a myriad of factors that slow economic growth. Furthermore, a slowing pace of growth of the working-age population and an increase in older members of the workforce, as well as a greater number of retirees, has significant economic consequences for the pace of startups. In contrast, it is possible that the shock from COVID may have boosted business formation and pushed technology adoption across generations, perhaps mitigating some of the demographic impediments to technology adoption. Yet for a large portion of the population, COVID has only meant devastation and despair. Here fiscal assistance is imperative.
Keywords: Business dynamism; Demographics; Economic growth; Pandemic; Productivity.
© National Association for Business Economics 2021.