Business climate in the eye of the employer

Abstract

What constitutes a “good business climate” is often couched in monolithic and diametrically opposed terms of low taxes versus high public services. However, there is likely considerable heterogeneity across firms in their preferences for the trade-off between higher taxes and the public services they provide. Using a novel primary data set of firm expansion and relocation decisions, this analysis investigates how firms in relatively high-paying sectors express their preferences for a variety of local “business climate” attributes relative to firms in lower-paying sectors. The findings show evidence that firms in low-wage sectors view a “good business climate” differently than firms in high-wage sectors.