Business Dynamics in Europe

         This study presents evidence on firm entry and exit, growth and survival derived with new data from Eurostat, covering nine European Union member countries. One contribution of the study is an analysis of the role of data quality for studies of firm demographics. Confronting results obtained with the Eurostat data with those of a previous OECD cross-country firm-level data project reveals that different size thresholds and difficulties in distinguishing genuine firm entry and exit from mergers &amp acquisitions, ownership changes or changes in legal form can have sizeable impacts on results. Cross-country differences in firm entry and exit rates are analysed with a special emphasis on detailed information and communication technology (ICT) related sectors, which has not been possible with previously available cross-country data. After controlling for some basic factors, such as countries’ industry composition, crosscountry differences in entry and exit rates in mature sectors turn out ...      