This paper presents new evidence suggesting that the aggregate conditions faced by businesses in the year of birth affect their performance over the entire life cycle. Using a unique employer–employee dataset that covers the universe of Italian businesses over the period 1975–2017, we document that businesses born during recessions start on a larger scale and remain larger compared to businesses born during expansions. These effects persist when we account for: fixed effects at sectoral, provincial and time level; exit attrition; regional and sectoral economic conditions; firm common characteristics; firms’ quality; and business formation. We then exploit the reform of the dismissal procedure implemented in Italy in 1990 for gauging the impact of labour market regulation on business creation. We find that a tightening of employment protection widens the employment gap in favour of recessionary startups. The evidence in the paper supports a countercyclical mechanism of selection at entry.

本文提出了新的证据，表明企业在出生年份面临的总体条件会影响其整个生命周期的绩效。使用涵盖 1975 年至 2017 年期间意大利企业范围的独特雇主-雇员数据集，我们记录了在经济衰退期间诞生的企业规模更大，并且与扩张期间诞生的企业相比，规模仍然更大。当我们考虑以下因素时，这些影响仍然存在： 部门、省和时间层面的固定影响；退出减员；区域和部门经济状况；企业共同特征；企业质量；和业务的形成。然后，我们利用 1990 年在意大利实施的解雇程序改革来衡量劳动力市场监管对企业创造的影响。我们发现，加强就业保护会扩大就业差距，有利于经济衰退的初创企业。论文中的证据支持进入时选择的反周期机制。