Life Duration of New Firms in Iranian Manufacturing Industries Using Cox Proportional Hazard Model

In this paper, the Cox proportional hazard model is used to answer several questions. In general, fourteen variables are applied in four groups: firm, industry, expenditure human resources specific characteristics as well. According to the previous literature in this field, the findings of this paper also show that the factors which affect life duration of firms are different between industries. Summing up, the life duration of manufacturing firm in Iran are positively affected by start-up size, profitability, efficiency, concentration rate, minimum efficient scale, industry growth rate, investment, advertising and education expenditure as well as labor force skills. While, entry rate of firms affect the life duration of firms, inversely. In term of policy, the findings of this paper confirm the importance of industry on the firm’s life duration and the necessity of paying more attention to this variable.