The deregulation of sectors producing intermediate goods, such as energy or telecommunication, is usually seen as important to unlock growth of downstream firms, i.e. those firms using those inputs. We looked into this question relying on a rich micro-level
dataset for the Portuguese economy.
A firm’s optimal choice of a CEO involves a key tradeoff of selecting a CEO new to the firm and the function – who may require a period of ‘learning by doing’, versus an experienced insider – who masters ‘business as usual but may fall prey to an ‘experience trap’, becoming incapable of performing in new and challenging circumstances.
