How Government Support Affects Creation of SMEs under Sanctions
https://doi.org/10.18288/1994-5124-2026-1-96-123
Abstract
The study evaluates the impact of government support on the creation of small and medium-sized businesses in relation to regional differentiation in exposure to risks from sanctions. Over three million instances of support provided to small and medium-sized businesses were analyzed. Cross-correlation was employed to ascertain the interval between introduction of state financial and advisory support and the emergence of significant positive effects on formation of new businesses. This analysis indicated that the relationship between government support for small and medium-sized businesses and the creation of new firms is not immediate and diminishes over time; however, the correlation is strongest within a two-to-four-month timeframe. Fixed-effects models were constructed to assess the impact of financial and advisory support on the number of newly created small and medium-sized businesses across regions with varying levels of risk from sanctions. Regression analysis revealed that both financial and advisory support have their most pronounced positive effects on the formation of small and medium-sized businesses in regions with moderate sanction risk. In high-risk regions, significant effects from financial support appears only after two months, while advisory support shows its impact after four months. No significant effects were observed in regions with low sanction risk. The authors offer practical recommendations based on these findings in order to inform the design of policies for fostering the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and facilitating their transition into "higher" business categories.
Supporting agencies: The reported study was supported by the Russian Studies Foundation’s project no. 24-28-01227 entitled “Modeling the Impact of Exogenous Shocks on Small and Medium Enterprises and Households in Russia: A Regional Aspect.”
About the Authors
A. R. Urazbaeva
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alina R. Urazbaeva, Postgraduate Student, Lecturer at the Applied Economics Department, Research Assistant at the Laboratory for Spatial Econometric Modeling of Socio-Economic Processes in Russia
11, Pokrovskiy bul., Moscow, 109028
V. V. Voytenkov
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Valentin A. Voytenko, Postgraduate Student, Lecturer at the Applied Economics Department, Research Assistant at the Laboratory for Spatial Econometric Modeling of Socio-Economic Processes in Russia
11, Pokrovskiy bul., Moscow, 109028
O. A. Demidova
National Research University Higher School of Economics
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Olga A. Demidova, Dr. Sci. (Econ.), Professor at the Applied Economics Department, Laboratory Head at the Laboratory for Spatial Econometric Modeling of Socio-Economic Processes in Russia
11, Pokrovskiy bul., Moscow, 109028
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For citations:
Urazbaeva A.R., Voytenkov V.V., Demidova O.A. How Government Support Affects Creation of SMEs under Sanctions. Economic Policy. 2026;21(1):96-123. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.18288/1994-5124-2026-1-96-123
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