Efficiency, competitiveness and exports of agricultural firms in the post-crisis era: evidence from Greece

The agri-food sector is an important sector for Greece and can contribute to the startup of the Greek economy. Therefore, the study covering the period 2004-2011, before and after the 2008 financial crisis in Greece, attempts to investigate the drivers of competitiveness in agricultural firms of Greece in the pre and post financial crisis era and detect differences among the two periods. Using a three-stage methodology, it is attempted to examine the hypotheses of this empirical study. OLS method is used in order to examine the relationship between efficiency, competitiveness and subsidies in agri-firms. The originality of this study is the investigation of the determinants of firm competitiveness measuring it with a competitiveness index and presenting differences between pre-crisis and post-crisis period. In addition, the correlation between efficiency, exports and subsidies on firm competitiveness is examined. The findings of this study have implications for practitioners, managers and policy makers.