African Firms : Learning and Productivity Improvement
Among the most pressing questions facing manufacturing firms in Sub-Saharan Africa is how to raise productivity. Market liberalization and the move away from inward-looking trade policies has forced African firms to compete head-on with stronger, more experienced rivals both at home and abroad. In order for them to survive and take advantage of the new opportunities created by economic reforms, African firms must find ways to raise their technical capabilities. The study, training, technology, and firm efficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa examines private 'learning' mechanisms by which firms build up technical capability and improve productivity. The paper then attempts to measure the impact of these learning investments on enterprise productivity. Survey data from five African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Zambia are used in the study. The data come from firm level surveys conducted in the mid-1990s by the World Bank's Regional Program on enterprise development more than 1,000 firms of all sizes were surveyed across four manufacturing sub-sectors. In the interviews, managers were asked about worker training and technology investments. This information was augmented by a random sample of workers in the firms from each employment category. Workers were questioned about their training experience, work histories, and compensation.
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2000-10
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| Subjects: | BUSINESS PARTNERS, BUSINESS STRATEGY, BUYERS, CAPABILITIES, CAPABILITY, CLASSROOM, CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, E-MAIL, ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT, EQUIPMENT, FORMAL TRAINING, INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, INNOVATION, INSTRUCTION, JOINT VENTURES, LEARNING, LICENSE, LICENSE AGREEMENTS, LICENSES, MANUFACTURING, NEW TECHNOLOGY, PRIMARY DETERMINANT, PRODUCTION PROCESSES, PRODUCTIVITY, R&D, RESULT, RESULTS, SCHOOLS, SKILLED PERSONNEL, SKILLED WORKERS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TECHNICIANS, TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS, TRAINING COURSES, TRAINING MATERIALS, TRAINING PROGRAMS, UNIVERSITIES, USES, WORK HISTORIES, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/10/12356229/african-firms-learning-productivity-improvement https://hdl.handle.net/10986/9831 |
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| Summary: | Among the most pressing questions facing
manufacturing firms in Sub-Saharan Africa is how to raise
productivity. Market liberalization and the move away from
inward-looking trade policies has forced African firms to
compete head-on with stronger, more experienced rivals both
at home and abroad. In order for them to survive and take
advantage of the new opportunities created by economic
reforms, African firms must find ways to raise their
technical capabilities. The study, training, technology, and
firm efficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa examines private
'learning' mechanisms by which firms build up
technical capability and improve productivity. The paper
then attempts to measure the impact of these learning
investments on enterprise productivity. Survey data from
five African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania,
and Zambia are used in the study. The data come from firm
level surveys conducted in the mid-1990s by the World
Bank's Regional Program on enterprise development more
than 1,000 firms of all sizes were surveyed across four
manufacturing sub-sectors. In the interviews, managers were
asked about worker training and technology investments. This
information was augmented by a random sample of workers in
the firms from each employment category. Workers were
questioned about their training experience, work histories,
and compensation. |
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