Live or Let Die? Alternative Routes to Industry Exit

Each year around 8% of Swedish manufacturing firms leave an industry. Of the exit routes available, the least likely is firm closure. Firms are more likely to merge, become acquired or switch to a new industry. We investigate the importance of a range of firm and industry characteristics for the exit decision of Swedish firms from 1980-1996. From our analysis two patterns are evident. First, firms that close down appear to be the most distinct compared to those that remain within the sector. Second the same characteristics can have quite different associations with different exit strategies.