Civil Conflict and Firm Recovery: Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire

This paper examines how firms bounce back after a short, albeit severe, civil conflict. Thanks to a rich firm-level database, we follow surviving enterprises before, during and after the 2011 post-electoral crisis in Côte d'Ivoire. Main findings are summarized as follows. First, recovery was rapid in the first year but imperfect: 3 years after the shock, firms did not reach their pre-crisis level of productivity. Second, we show a wide heterogeneity in recovery across firms according to their initial characteristics (before the crisis). Young and local firms are more able to rebound after the crisis. In addition, credit-constrained firms are less resilient, highlighting the importance of access to credit in post-crisis periods. Finally, the recovery is quicker for labor-intensive firms; but firms relying more on skilled workers are less likely to rebound.