What Have We Learned From a Decade of Manufacturing Enterprise Surveys in Africa?

In the early 1990s the World Bank launched the Regional Program on Enterprise Development in several African countries, a key component of which was the collection of manufacturing firm-level data. In this paper the authors review the research based on the data sets generated by these and subsequent firm surveys in Africa, with a special view to what they think are the most important policy implications. The authors survey the research on the African business environment, focusing on market size, risk, access to credit, labor, and infrastructure. They cover the research on how firms choose to organize themselves and how firms do business. They review the research on firm performance, including firm growth, investment and technology acquisition, and exports. They conclude with an extended discussion of the policy lessons.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Bigsten, Arne, Söderbom, Måns
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2005-12
Subjects:	ACCESS TO INFORMATION, ADJUSTMENT COSTS, BENCHMARK, BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, CAPITAL COSTS, COMPANY, COMPETITIVE MARKET, COMPETITIVENESS, COMPETITORS, CONSTANT RETURNS TO SCALE, CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT, COST OF CAPITAL, CREDIT RATINGS, DEPRECIATION, DISPUTE RESOLUTION, DOMESTIC MARKETS, ECONOMIC INTEGRATION, ECONOMIC OUTCOMES, ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE, ECONOMIC RISK, ELASTICITY, EMPLOYMENT, EMPLOYMENT LEVEL, ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT, ENTREPRENEURS, EXCESSIVE REGULATION, EXCHANGE RATES, EXPANSION, EXPORTS, FIRM DYNAMICS, FIRM GROWTH, FIRM PERFORMANCE, FIRM PRODUCTIVITY, FIRM SIZE, FIRM SURVEY, FIRM SURVEYS, FIRM SURVIVAL, FIRMS, GDP, GROWTH RATE, HIGH WAGES, HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIES, INCOME INEQUALITIES, INCREASING RETURNS, INCREASING RETURNS TO SCALE, INFORMAL SECTOR, INVENTORIES, JOB CREATION, JOBS, LABOR COST, LABOR COSTS, LABOR DEMAND, LABOR FORCE, LABOR LAWS, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKET INSTITUTIONS, LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES, LABOR MARKET SEGMENTATION, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR TURNOVER, LICENSING, MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS, MANUFACTURERS, MINIMUM WAGES, MONOPOLY, NETWORK EXTERNALITIES, PRICE CONTROLS, PRIVATE FIRMS, PRIVATE INVESTMENT, PRIVATE SECTOR, PRODUCT MIX, PRODUCTION WORKERS, PRODUCTIVITY, PRODUCTIVITY DISPERSION, PRODUCTIVITY GAINS, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, PROFIT RATE, PROPERTY RIGHTS, PUBLIC SERVICES, SERVICE PROVISION, SKILLED LABOR, SMALL FIRMS, SMALL MANUFACTURING, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, SUPPLIERS, TAX REVENUES, TOTAL COSTS, TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE, UNSKILLED WORKERS, VALUE OF OUTPUT, WAGE DIFFERENTIAL, WAGE GROWTH, WAGE INCREASE, WAGE RATE, WAGES, WEALTH, WORKER,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/12/6475990/learned-decade-manufacturing-enterprise-surveys-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8550
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