Brexit and skill shortages: an empirical analysis of UK SMEs

Tiwasing, Pattanapong

Abstract

This paper examines the perspectives of SMEs on Brexit and skill shortages using cross-sectional data of 2,969 SMEs from a UK Government’s Small Business survey for 2016. The logistic regression with clustered standard errors is applied to analyse the association between SMEs considering Brexit as a major business obstacle and the probability of SMEs identifying skill shortages in their businesses. The results show that firms with a shortage of managerial skills/expertise have a 6.5% higher probability to report that Brexit will affect their businesses, followed by difficulties in staff recruitment (4.5%) and shortage of skills within external labour markets (3.8%). Policy recommendations are provided.

Citation

Tiwasing, P. (2021). Brexit and skill shortages: an empirical analysis of UK SMEs. Economics and Business Letters, 10(1), 9-15. https://doi.org/10.17811/ebl.10.1.2021.9-15

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Feb 28, 2024
• Publication Date: 2021-03
• Deposit Date: Jul 5, 2023
• Journal: Economics and Business Letters
• Print ISSN: 2254-4380
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 9-15
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.17811/ebl.10.1.2021.9-15