Análisis de impacto de la Ley de Emprendedores

• Ref.: FCT-24-20867
• Principal Investigators: Vicente Bermejo, Martí Guasch
• Period: January 2025 – January 2027
• Research group: GREF
• Funding body: FECYT
• Duration: 24 meses

This project evaluates the Startups Act in Spain and the startup certification process overseen by Enisa. Only certified startups can take advantage of the benefits of this legislation. The policy is designed to accelerate the growth of innovative startups through tax incentives, procedural simplification, and measures to attract talent and international investment. The benefits include reductions in corporate tax, tax deductions for investors, deferrals of administrative payments, and a more flexible use of stock options. A key aspect of the legislation is that to access these benefits startups must first obtain a certification issued by Enisa that confirms eligibility based on innovation and scalability.

The project has four main objectives:

1. Evaluate the long-term impact of the legislation on the growth, innovation, internationalization, financing, and survival of startups.
2. Analyze its effectiveness in encouraging entrepreneurial activity in the regions.
3. Examine how the impact varies across different industries and regions.
4. Evaluate the certification process and how the characteristics of each company influence success.

This research is based on signaling theory, which suggests that certification acts as a signal that startups can use to demonstrate their quality to investors and other players. Given that certification involves costs and requirements that not all startups can easily meet, it is expected to be positively correlated with the quality of the company. Accordingly, certified startups will have better access to funding and better prospects for growth and survival. This project will provide the first comprehensive empirical analysis of the Startups Act and its certification process, as well as offering useful recommendations for future policies.