Survival and Duration Analysis of MSMEs in Chiang Mai, Thailand: Evidence from the Post-COVID-19 Recovery

This study attempts to reveal the consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. A total of 786 MSMEs were surveyed during May and August 2022, corresponding to the period when the recovery of businesses and livelihoods from the ongoing COVID-19 crisis became more perceptible. The perceptions of COVID-19's impact on MSMEs and their survivability are explored and investigated. To achieve this goal, a copula-based sample selection survival model is introduced. This idea of the model is extended from the concept of the Cox proportional hazards model and copula-based sample selection model, enabling us to construct simultaneous equations-namely, the probability-of-failure equation (selection equation) and the duration-of-survival equation (time-to-event or outcome equation). Several copula functions with different dependence patterns are considered to join the failure equation and the duration-of-survival equation. By comparing the Akaike and Bayesian information criteria values of the candidate copulas, we find that Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern (FGM) copula performs the best-fit joint function in our analysis. Empirically, the results from this best-fit model reveal that the survival probability of MSMEs in the next year is around 80%. However, some MSMEs may not survive more than three months after the interview. Finally, our results also reveal that the tourism MSMEs have a lower chance of survival than the commercial and manufacturing MSMEs. Notably, the business size and the support schemes from the government-such as the debt restructuring process, the tax payment deadline extension, and the reduced social security contributions-exhibited a role in lengthening the survival duration of the non-surviving MSMEs.