An evaluation of the impact of a government supported investment scheme on recipient firms

This article evaluates the firm-level impact of the Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS), a tax relief programme designed to mobilise private capital for small and medium-sized enterprise growth. Drawing on the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory, we assess the effect of EIIS funding on employment, revenue, productivity, profitability and survival. Using a matched sample of 1254 firms and a staggered difference-in-differences approach, we find that EIIS recipients experience gains in employment, revenue and labour productivity, increasingly from the second-year post-investment. These gains do not translate into improved profitability, however, and recipient firms face a modest but persistent increase in failure risk. Our findings highlight that performance depends not only on acquiring capital but also on the ability to deploy it effectively. We offer theoretical and policy insights into the design of taxation-based business supports, emphasising the need to complement financial assistance with non-financial guidance and more targeted eligibility mechanisms.