The effects of COV-19 on 150,000 Polish enterprises
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18559/ebr.2025.1.1899Keywords:
COVID-19, economic sectors, Wilcoxon testAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic had massive impacts on economic sectors. This paper explores the economic effects of COVID-19 on 150,000 Polish enterprises. The paper analyses financial data from the Polish National Court Register and explores heterogenous impacts brought by the COVID-19 pandemic across multiple sectors. Its innovative contribution lies in adopting a granular perspective to assess the sector-specific impacts of COVID-19. This approach distinguishes the paper from much of the existing literature, which predominantly emphasises global or macroeconomic outcomes. The paper compares financial ratios across 2019 and 2020, applying Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests to measure changes in profitability, liquidity, working capital, and leverage ratios. Key findings indicate a disparity in revenues across sectors, with some showing resilience in adapting to pandemic-induced challenges. The analysis reveals that 28 PKD divisions experienced significant revenue reductions (up to −70% in tourism-related sectors), while 25 divisions experienced gains (up to +23% in Information Technology sectors).
JEL Classification
General (A30)
Hypothesis Testing: General (C12)
General (E60)
General (G30)
Government Policy and Regulation (G38)
Downloads
References
Alon, T., Kim, M., Lagakos, D., & Van Vuren, M. (2023). Macroeconomic effects of COVID-19 across the world income distribution. IMF Economic Review, 71(1), 99– 147.
View in Google Scholar
Ambroziak, A. A. (2022). Forms of COVID-19 state aid by beneficiary size in Poland in 2020. International Journal of Management and Economics, 58(1), 44–63.
View in Google Scholar
Archanskaia, E., Canton, E., Hobza, A., Nikolov, P., & Simons, W. (2023). The asymmet- ric impact of COVID-19: A novel approach to quantifying financial distress across industries. European Economic Review, 158, 104509.
View in Google Scholar
Bartik, A., Bertrand, M., Cullen, Z., Glaeser, E., Luca, M., & Stanton, C. (2020). How are small businesses adjusting to COVID-19? Early evidence from a survey. NBER Working Papers, 26989.
View in Google Scholar
Bartosik, K. (2024). The effect of output on employment in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Economics and Business Review, 10(3), 58–83.
View in Google Scholar
Basurto, A., Dawid, H., Harting, P., Hepp, J., & Kohlweyer, D. (2021). How to design virus containment policies? A joint analysis of economic and epidemic dynamics under the COVID-19 pandemic. SSRN Electronic Journal.
View in Google Scholar
Dębkowska, K., Kłosiewicz-Górecka, U., Szymańska, A., Ważniewski, P., & Zybertowicz, K. (2021). Tarcza antykryzysowa… Koło ratunkowe dla firm i gospodarki? Polski Instytut Ekonomiczny.
View in Google Scholar
Fairlie, R. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social-distancing restrictions. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 29(4), 727–740. Portico.
View in Google Scholar
Funk, S., Gilad, E., Watkins, C., & Jansen, V. A. A. (2009). The spread of awareness and its impact on epidemic outbreaks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(16), 6872–6877.
View in Google Scholar
Guedegbe, O. T. A. (2022). Effects of shocks on economic development and roles of resilience factors [Electronic Theses & Dissertations]. Michigan State University.
View in Google Scholar
Gunasekaran, A., Martikainen, T., Perttunen, J., & Yli-Olli, P. (1995). Financial ratio distribution irregularities: Implications for ratio classification. European Journal of Operational Research, 80, 34–44.
View in Google Scholar
Ikhsan, I., & Amri, K. (2023). Sectoral growth impacts of bank credit allocation: The role of COVID-19 pandemic as moderating variable. Economic Studies, 32(5), 32–50.
View in Google Scholar
Kallunki J., Martikainen T., & Perttunen J. (1996). The proportionality of financial ratios: implications for ratio classifications. Applied Financial Economics, 6(6), 535– 541.
View in Google Scholar
Karaki, M. B., & Rangaraju, S. K. (2023). The confidence channel of U.S. financial uncertainty: Evidence from industry-level data. Economic Modelling, 129, 106557.
View in Google Scholar
Kazancoglu, Y., Ekinci, E., Mangla, S. K., Sezer, M. D., & Ozbiltekin-Pala, M. (2023). Impact of epidemic outbreaks (COVID-19) on global supply chains: A case of trade between Turkey and China. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 85, 101494.
View in Google Scholar
Kochaniak, K., Ulman, P., & Zajkowski, R. (2023). Effectiveness of COVID-19 state aid for microenterprises in Poland. International Review of Economics & Finance, 86, 483–497.
View in Google Scholar
Korneta, P., & Rostek, K. (2021). The impact of the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic on the global Gross Domestic Product. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5246.
View in Google Scholar
Kwiatkowski, E., & Szymańska, A. (2022). Sectoral changes of employment in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic: Are reallocation shock effects applicable? Economics and Business Review, 8(2), 113–144.
View in Google Scholar
Kyriazis, N. A., Papadamou, S., & Tzeremes, P. (2023). Are benchmark stock indices, precious metals or cryptocurrencies efficient hedges against crises? Economic Modelling, 128, 106502.
View in Google Scholar
Lalinsky, T., & Pál, R. (2022). Distribution of COVID-19 government support and its consequences for firm liquidity and solvency. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 61, 305–335.
View in Google Scholar
Lam, K., Sin, C., & Leung, R. (2003). A theoretical framework to evaluate different margin-setting methodologies. Journal of Futures Markets, 24(2), 117–145. Portico.
View in Google Scholar
Mann, H. B., & Whitney, D. R. (1947). On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other. The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 18(1), 50–60.
View in Google Scholar
McCann, F., McGeever, N., & Yao, F. (2023). SME viability in the COVID-19 recovery. Small Business Economics, 61(3), 1053–1074.
View in Google Scholar
McKibbin, W., & Roshen F. (2023). The global economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic Modelling, 129, 106551.
View in Google Scholar
Nyakurukwa, K., & Seetharam, Y. (2023). Sectoral integration on an emerging stock market: A multi-scale approach. Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, 18(4), 759–778.
View in Google Scholar
Osorio, P., Cadarso, M. Á., Tobarra, M. Á., & García-Alaminos, Á. (2023). Carbon footprint of tourism in Spain: COVID-19 impact and a look forward to recovery. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 65, 303–318.
View in Google Scholar
Potter, C.W. (2001) A history of influenza. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 91(4), 572–579.
View in Google Scholar
Raza, H., Laurentjoye, T., Byrialsen, M. R., & Valdecantos, S. (2023). Inflation and the role of macroeconomic policies: A model for the case of Denmark. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, 67, 32–43.
View in Google Scholar
Wang, J., Cui, M., & Chang, L. (2023). Evaluating economic recovery by measuring the COVID-19 spillover impact on business practices: Evidence from Asian markets intermediaries. Economic Change and Restructuring, 56(3), 1629–1650.
View in Google Scholar
Wang, X. (2023). Discussion of “the asymmetric impact of COVID-19: A novel approach to quantifying financial distress across industries.” European Economic Review, 157, 104501.
View in Google Scholar
Wilcoxon, F. (1945). Individual comparisons by ranking methods. Biometrics Bulletin, 1(6), 80–83.
View in Google Scholar
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Wojciech Kuryłek, Yochanan Shachmurove

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.