Survival of new private enterprises in transition economies: The case of Vietnam

This paper focuses on determinants of survival of new private firms in the manufacturing sector in a transition economy, Vietnam, during the period 2000–2007. A semi-parametric Cox proportional hazard model is applied with a comprehensive specification of firm-specific, industrial and macroeconomic factors. There is strong evidence in market selection that labour productivity is the most important internal factor supporting firm survival. Other evidence is that firms with higher profitability in terms of profit per employee will have higher survival probability. For private firms, in terms of start-up factors, although total assets increase the probability of survival, total sales decrease it. Besides, industries which have increasing numbers of employees open favourable opportunities for new private firms. Furthermore, the macroeconomic factor, GDP, significantly supports the development of private firms.