The Covid-19 pandemic and technical efficiency of Russian firms: a stochastic frontier production function approach

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to undertake the efficiency analysis in the form of stochastic frontier to estimate a Cobb–Douglas production function by controlling for the heterogeneity across Russian firms by including firm size, ownership, age, innovation activity and market competition. Design/methodology/approach During the peak period of Covid-19, certain firms witnessed either a decrease or increase in sales. Using this segregation of firms from World Bank’s Covid-19 impact surveys follow-up to the Enterprise Survey for Russia, this study empirically investigates the determinants of technical efficiency of these firms focusing on the role of government assistance. Findings The findings suggest that by segregating firms in terms of sales, different internal factors can enable in steering through pandemic situation besides just depending on external assistance. Originality/value One of the few papers to analyse the impact of the pandemic on Russian firms by considering World Bank Covid Survey.