Evolution of the Firm Structure in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Abstract

In this chapter, small and medium enterprises in Turkey have been analyzed in a timely manner to provide insight into their post-COVID-19 performance. The analysis starts with a snapshot of the firm structure and firm size distribution in Turkey. A brief overview of the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey has been provided. The policy responses to the economic effects of the health crisis have been discussed. SMEs' medium-term dynamics have been tabulated using the data of opening and closing firms during the first months of the pandemic. Several surveys conducted with SMEs during the pandemic by public and private organizations have been combined to match the business owners' expectations to policy responses. To assess the public response to the shock and the solutions, the stock market performance of SMEs has been compared with large firms using stock market indices of XKOBI, XPGIP, and XU100.