世界银行-促进创新创业：来自突尼斯的准实验证据（英）

Policy Research Working Paper11117Promoting Innovative StartupsQuasi-Experimental Evidence from TunisiaNadia AliMassimiliano CaliBob RijkersEconomic Policy Global Department &Development Research GroupMay 2025 Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedProduced by the Research Support TeamAbstractThe Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.Policy Research Working Paper 11117This paper evaluates Tunisia’s “Startup Act,” a policy ini-tiative to foster innovative firms through a “start-up” label and a bundle of incentives, including reduced social security contributions, corporate tax exemptions, easier access to for-eign exchange, and simplified customs procedures. Detailed data on the program’s selection process allow identifying marginal entrants and rejects, and hence limit selection on unobservables. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, the program is shown to increase survival and promote job creation. A back-of-the-envelope cost-benefit calculation suggests that the program is cost effective.This paper is a product of the Economic Policy Global Department and the Development Research Group, Development Economics. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://www.worldbank.org/prwp. The authors may be contacted at nali5@worldbank.org; mcali@worldbank.org; and brijkers@worldbank.org. Promoting Innovative Startups:Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Tunisia∗Nadia Ali∗ Massimiliano Cal`ı† Bob Rijkers‡§∗Columbia University, nadia.ali@columbia.edu†The World Bank, mcali@worldbank.org‡The World Bank and Utrecht School of Economics, Utrecht University, brijkers@worldbank.org.§This paper has been supported by the World Bank’s Global Tax Program (GTP), Umbrella Facilityfor Trade, Labor and Gender Research Program of the Chief Economist’s Office of the Middle East andNorthern Africa region, Knowledge for Change Program (KCP), and Research Support Budget. Thefindings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. Theydo not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development,the World Ba